


Hairy Werewolf in his Furry Dragon Vampire

by poisonkiwifruit



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canon LGBTQ Character(s), Eventual Relationships, Eventual Sex, Original Character Death(s), Original Fiction, Sexual Content, Vampires, Werewolves, Work In Progress, eventual polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 00:51:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9297029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonkiwifruit/pseuds/poisonkiwifruit
Summary: An obligatory Vamp/Werewolf AU with my OCs. A special pairing request from my dear cousin and collaborator.An ancient enemy comes out of hiding to attack and wage war against the vampires and werewolves. They will have to join forces to stop them before everything falls to ruin.





	1. Chapter 1

Thunder clapped in the sky and with every bolt of lightening, Night and the three other members of the pack along with him- Day, Final, and Solstice, ran faster toward the shelter of an abandoned building, rapidly approaching the small group of wolves with each step. After escaping the cold downpour, the four hounds promptly shook their bodies, trying to rid their coats of the mass of water.

Night gently placed a small, smoking wolf down to the cold concrete of the building and lie next to the body. Final’s man beast body reverted his human formation, appearing no older than an 18 years and naked. “That kid alright?” he asked still shaking rain water from his damp red hair.

Night didn’t move but his voice sounded to the three via telepathy. “He has maintained his transformation so I don’t think the water did much damage. He’s probably feeling weak though.”

Day’s body lingered over the two, her golden coat practically glistened in the dark building. “Brother, Apocalypse is strong. A vampire’s body surely isn’t so weak. He will be fine.”

Night turned to his sister, looking the pack leader in the eye respectfully. “Thank you for your consolation.”

Solstice was heard growling with contempt in the distance. “Tch! It’s his own damn fault for going out on his own. A vampire ought to know better.” 

One fearsome growl from Day put Solstice back in his place.

“There’s really no use Day,” Night said, “You should know the extent of Solstice’s bitterness by now. Besides it doesn’t bother me.”

“Still,” Day started, “I refuse to let anyone talk to you in such a manner.”

Night turned a head toward his sibling, “You don’t have to baby me-”

 

“Who goes!” A voice boomed through the entirety of the building, scaring Final back into his wolf form and causing the pack to get into defensive positions. What had come upon them was a great dragon with dark green scales, black, curled horns, a spiked tail, and slitted eyes glowing a piercing neon yellow at the wolves. They refused to back down and were ready to strike until the dragon’s voice echoed again. “Ugh, werewolves…”   

Day’s ears perked, “That voice...could it be Zodiac?”

“Indeed.” The dragon’s body seemed to melt into the form of a man, dressed in a red shirt with a black vest and black pants, looking rather steampunk in fashion. His long, dark green hair fell at his around his shoulders and neon eyes, now more of an orange color, stared unwavering at the wolf pack. He stuck a hand in one of his pockets and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Day responded, “We were taking shelter from the rain. Is there a problem?”

“Oh, not really. Except for the part where you are in my territory but other than that, there is no problem.”

Day sighed. “Are we really going to do this now?”

Zodiac’s brow furrowed. “Why is it you are taking shelter from the rain? A small storm like this should be nothing to your kind.”

“Please, Zodiac let us stay here, at least until the storm clears.” begged Day.

“You have avoided my question.”

Solstice interrupted to answer Zodiac. “That dumbass kid there is why we are here.” he motioned with a deformed claw to the smaller wolf lying unconscious next to Night. 

 

Zodiac’s eyes scanned over the wolf, its body still letting off  small streams of smoke. “Why that is a vampire…! Could that be Apocalypse? He managed to learn the art of transformation and chose to waste it taking the form of a wolf. Why is he smoking? Rain does not affect vampires.” 

The pack fell silent and only Night stood to answer. “It seems he managed to fall into a stream of water before it began to rain.”

The response caused Zodiac to laugh violently. “Not the most graceful of our kind. He truly does belong with you lot.”

Ignoring the laughing, Day pleaded once more. “Will you let us stay here?”

Zodiac’s laughter calmed and he replied. “I suppose I can allow this for you, old friend. Though there is a small price.”

“That isn’t like you.”

“Oh well, I will admit I am simply curious. That black pureblood there. That is your twin brother, Night, is he not?”

Uneasily Day answered, “Yes?”

“What do you want with me?” Night spoke,

“I do believe that we have had many encounters in the past considering the amount of time I have known your sister. However I am certain I have never seen your human semblance. I wish to see it.”

“...Is that really important?” questioned Night.

“Well if you and your pack would like to stay here, it is.”

Night was quiet for a moment. “Final, Solstice, go back home.”

“What!” complained Final. “Night it’s still raining hard as shit out there!” Solstice seemed to agree with his reasoning.

 

Day exchanged glances with her brother and after a while nodded as if concluding a long conversation. “You heard him. We’re going!” Day ordered. ”Night will be fine watching over Apocalypse.” 

“But-” Final tired to argue but Day growled at him.

“Are you disobeying the pack leader?”

Final lowered his head. “N-no.”

“Let’s go then. I will see you soon Night.” Day left him on those words with Final and Solstice following behind.

 

Night faced Zodiac. “I will be nude…”

“Oh I am  _ well  _ aware.” Zodiac replied.

Night grunted in defeat and closed his eyes before morphing into a man. Zodiac took in his pale body, skinny but muscled. His hair was dark and long, falling to his backside. 

“Strange, you look nothing like your sister.” Zodiac commented.

“She has been unhappy with her appearance since birth so she made a few changes.” Night spoke with his eyes still closed.

“Now why did you send the others away, I wonder?”

“It is  _ improper _ for a pureblood like myself to reveal their human form to someone they aren’t completely familiar with.”

“Day had no problem doing so with me in the past.”

“It is more embarrassing for a werewolf than it is improper. My sister does not care. I do.”

Zodiac chuckled. “Why didn’t you just leave with them? This entire situation could have been heavily avoided.” Zodiac walked forward to Night and began to circling around him.

“I do not wish to move Apocalypse any further.”

“You could have left him here. I’m sure he knows his way home to your pack.”

Night scoffed. “He isn’t so invaluable that I would do that to him.” 

“Ah so you care for that vampire. That’s amusing.”

“I’m sorry if I am being...impolite but all this seems horribly out of character for you.”

Zodiac’s interest was piqued. “How do you mean?”

“All the times I’ve seen you, you seemed to be a ‘take-no-shit’ kind of guy who would be willing to kill anyone who so much as looked at you funny.”

“You flatter me. I am rarely so violent. I would never kill anyone... for something as trivial as that.”

Night added to his point, “See? You seem so lively and sarcastic.”

Zodiac stopped circling. “I suppose you have just caught me on a good day- Tell me, why have you not opened your eyes yet?”

“Why would I humiliate myself further by looking you in the eye?” responded Night.

“Oh fine. If it is causing you such discomfort, I will allow you to revert to you wolf formation.”

 

Almost immediately after the words left Zodiac’s mouth, Night changed, relishing in the comfort of his midnight colored coat. Night looked to Zodiac, his bright yellow-green eyes now looking at the vampire firmly. “I thank you even though you were the one causing my discomfort.”

Zodiac would have snorted, had he been some sort of hoodlum. “I did not force you. You could have taken yourself and that sad excuse for a vampire right to another abandoned building.”

“That reminds me, what exactly are you doing here alone?”

I...um,” Zodiac began and Night was surprised by how much his question had taken the vampire off guard. “I too am sheltering myself from the rain. Although it does nothing to us, the feeling of water on our skin is irritable, even to a vampire as old as I am.”

Night hummed, intrigued by the fact. “Rainwater is also irritable to us werewolves. The trace salt in it makes us uneasy.”

“Hm. I was unaware of this.”

 

Night's ears twitched at the sound of Apocalypse stirring from his sleep. He awoke in his regular state, appearing as a young boy, short, dark, messy hair, and green eyes. Night immediately went to his side and Zodiac turned his head.

"Are you alright Apocalypse?" Night asked as he circled around him several times, checking to see if anything else was wrong with the boy. 

"I'm fine."

"Good. That was foolish of you to fall into a stream!" Night's tone went from relieved to lecturing in a split second. 

"Yes," Zodiac added himself to the conversation, "it was rather foolish. Had you still been one with my coven, we wouldn't have cared to save you." 

Ignoring the other vampire and putting aside his confusion to why he and Night were together, he insisted, "I did not fall. Something pushed me."

Night's eyes flashed to Zodiac, "Something?"

Offended Zodiac exclaimed, "Why would we do this? We have no quarrel with the boy. No real one anyway..."

"No, Night, it wasn't a vampire." Apocalypse clarified.

"Did you get a good look at what did then?"

Apocalypse hesitated. "Well to be honest...it looked like a wolf."

"A wolf?"

The vampire nodded his head. "Though it was way bigger than any regular wolf or any werewolf I've ever seen. but I definitely saw  _ and  _ heard something akin to a wolf."

"Maybe you're embarrassed to admit that you actually fell inside the stream." Zodiac said

"No! What are you doing here anyway?" Apocalypse snapped.

Night answered. "Well actually this is part of his territory so we're the intruders." 

"Indeed." conceded Zodiac. "However your friend here has paid his toll so you may both reside here, along with my company, until the rain has passed, which probably won't be much longer."

Apocalypse began to ask about this "toll" but Night suddenly gasped as if he were in pain. "What is it?"

"Something is wrong with Day and the others." Night said. "We need to leave now. Day is hurt." 

"I thought you would stay awhile longer," Zodiac said with false sadness.

"I can't, not while my sister-our pack leader is in danger." And with that, Night sprinted out into the rain, Apocalypse behind him trying to keep up.


	2. Chapter 2

“What the hell is that thing?” Solstice cried as he ran alongside Day and Final, trying to avoid whatever beast like creature was hunting them down. It was tearing down trees as if they weren’t there in the first place. “It kinda looks like a wolf but that thing is way too huge!”

“I think a more important question is why is it so close to home?” Day said, “We need to kill it before it gets to the rest of the pack.” 

Final responded with a husky bark, agreeing with the idea. 

 

The beast was directly behind them when Day stopped suddenly to pounce on the wolfbeast. She bit and clawed at its neck, but with a mighty shake of its head, the beast tossed her into the ground. Both Final and Solstice turned and attacked the beast in unison. It slapped Solstice aside and caught Final in its mouth. He cried out in agony as the beast slowly crushed many bones with its massive jaws. Day lept up, headbutting the wolf monster in the jaw, causing it let Final go. Solstice swiftly caught Final, whose fur was now blotted deep red with blood in several areas, and distanced himself from the beast, running nowhere in particular—just to get away. The wolf beast did not bother with them however and decided to tail Day. She decided if it was going to follow her, she would run the direction opposite of the rest of the pack. This proved a bit difficult for her as her hind legs were both injured when she was thrown into the ground. The beast easily caught up with her, ready to snatch her up in its massive claws. 

However just when Day thought was over, the beast was suddenly pushed back, its large body causing small tremors and splashing water around after hitting the ground. Day looked and saw that Night had come, tackling and pinning the gigantic wolf down before retreating back to his sister. “Day are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You are hurt, can you still go on?”

Day nodded, “I’m not weak, Night.”

“I know, I wasn’t saying you were. You forget I feel your pain as well so I know your legs-”

“I said I’m alright! Let’s hurry and kill this thing.” 

The wolf beast was slowly getting back to its feet. Apocalypse appeared next to the twins. “That’s it! That’s what pushed me.”

“What is that thing?” Night asked, “ It’s like a bus sized wolf.”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Day said quickly. “I want it dead.”

A deep, growling voice grumbled, “You foolish wolves. Do you not know of your past? I am one of your origin!” 

“It spoke?” Day noted, puzzled by why the beast chose to speak now. “What do you want? And what are you?”

The beast spoke in a loud voice. “As I said I am your origin- I am an Amarok! I am here on behalf of my clan to pass judgement.”

“Judgement for what?” Night inquired.

“You newer generation of wolves have made nice with the descendent of our eternal enemy. There is even one amongst you now!” the Amarok looked to Apocalypse, its eyes filled with hate. “This was never to happen! It sickens us and breaks several of our laws, thus we have decided to kill all of you to end this for good!”

 

There was no more time for questions as the wolf beast started its rampage once again. Its giant body charged at all three wolves, intending to crush them with its mass, however they all evaded to the side. Apocalypse jumped on its back and bit into it deeply- devouring its blood in vicious gulps.

Disgusted the Amarok slammed its back onto a nearby tree. The vampire fell and the Amarok turned, picking him up by the neck. Both Night and Day jumped to attack the beast’s arms however, a simple side step foiled that plan. “It doesn’t matter what you are,” the Amarok began to Apocalypse , “everything dies from beheading.” It ripped off his head, the motion like taking the cap off of a pen, and tossed aside both body parts. “One less abomination to worry about.”

Enraged, Night lashed out at the beast, but to no avail. The Amarok would simply avoid each and every one of Night’s attacks until the werewolf had worn himself out to the point where he couldn’t move. The beast prepared to crush Night under its giant paw, but Day stepped up.

“Leave him alone!-” she was snatched up.

“Your petty words mean nothing to me!” the Amarok stated. It looked down to see Night biting at its foot uselessly. The Amarok kicked him away, laughing at the werewolf whine. It saw Day wincing after Night was hurt. “You must be his twin. Can you feel his pain? Don’t worry it’ll be gone soon. What I’m about to do anyway will hurt him a lot more. You’ll barely feel it— not for long anyway!”

“Day!” cried Night.

“You need to lea-!” she tried to tell him but she was cut off. Her body was ripped into two pieces before she could finish.

 

At first Night was paralyzed. Even if he tried moving toward his sister, his body would not allow him It was strange to him. Not necessarily the paralysis but the fact that he felt nothing. Usually the pain was almost immediate but nothing came to him. He felt disappointed. Then he had changed from wolf to human, dropped to the ground and began convulsing violently. Finally, the actual pain settled which had him writhing even more, clutching his chest and screaming and until his voice cut out.

 

“It seems you reverted to a man,” the Amarok commented but Night could barely hear it. His vision was blurred as well but the vibrations that felt as if they were drawing closer told him that the beast was walking toward him. Good. Put him out of his misery.

He waited, but it appeared something had interfered. It was huge and it took down the Amarok in a second. Night wasn’t sure what it was though, or if the Amarok was dead; all he could make out was a green blur since his sight started to blackout. The last thing he heard, however, was the sound of wolves growling and snarling. 

Then nothing.

 

\--

 

The hospital room was small and intolerable. Zodiac wondered how humans could stand to be in such bland room with so many beeping noises. He rubbed his temple in frustration. “This is hell…”

“You aren’t even doing anything,” a woman’s voice told him matter-of-factly. Zodiac lifted his head to see Dream at the door, then walking toward him and plopping herself right in his lap. Zodiac didn’t exactly know what to do with her so he just accepted the fact that this woman decided to sit on him.

“What are you doing?” he asked “Here I mean. What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you and the werewolf.” She turned her head to the bed Night was resting on. “I see he’s still comatose.”

“Yes. There was not much physical damage but he felt his sister die. It must have been excruciating.”

“I still can’t believe Day is gone. She was a good friend.”

Zodiac nodded. “Indeed. She did not deserve such a gruesome end.” He noticed Night had opened his eyes and asked. “Have you finally joined the living then? Not us of course.” Night did not respond. His moving to look the vampires was the only thing that told Zodiac that he had heard him. “How are you faring?” Night sat up but quickly realized he was in his human form and covered himself immediately with the blankets and faced the opposite direction of the two vampires. “I advise not changing back unless you want to make a scene.”

“Where am I?” 

“I have taken you to a human hospital.” informed Zodiac. “Another werewolf, yours I am assuming, is also here. Just incase you wanted to know.”

“Which one?”

“I do not know his name but he is rather young. He appears to be anyway. The white haired one brought him here.”

Night figured it must have been Final and the “white haired one” was definitely Solstice. “I’m sorry but can you ask that other vampire to leave?”

Dream motioned to herself, “Me?”

“Yes.” Night confirmed.

“My dear, he does not mean to be rude, he is simply embarrassed.” Zodiac explained.

“Oh. I suppose I will go then.” Dream hopped off of Zodiac and exited the room. After hearing her leave Night sat up once more and uncovered himself.

“Oh? Are you alright with me seeing you like this?”

“Tell me what you know.” Night ordered.

“I am sorry. I do not know much other than the fact that your pack took care of that giant wolf after I intervened. And as you know Apocalypse and Day…” Zodiac found it surprisingly hard to say the words so he changed his sentence. “You’ve been here for five days and I have watched over you.”  
“Everyday?” Night asked and Zodiac nodded. “You didn’t need to-Argh!” Night keeled over grasping at his at chest; his breaths becoming heavy. 

“Are you alright? Night!” Zodiac placed a concerned hand on one of Night’s shoulders. “What is the matter?”

“It...hurts- my chest.” It took him a while to speak again. “I think I can still...feel the pain... from my sister.”

Zodiac took in the information and proposed an idea. “Shall I soothe it? I believe I can temporarily relieve what you are feeling.” Night looked to the vampire with confusion. Zodiac simply grabbed Night’s wrist and sunk his fangs into his flesh.

“What are you-” Night cut himself off, quickly realizing his pain was gradually fading. Zodiac drew back, “What did you do?”

“When we bite something or someone, we can release different kinds of chemicals that is useful for many things, such as calming others, or,” Zodiac gave Night a suggestive look, “sex.”

Night ignored him. “Thank you, I guess.”

Zodiac gave him a small frown. “Are you disappointed?” Night fell silent. “I am sorry. I only wished to help you out of your anguish.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,  _ I’m  _ just conflicted. You were right to assume that I wasn’t enjoying the pain because- well I wasn’t. But when Day was...at first I couldn’t feel anything and I was angry. I wanted to feel her pain. For a moment I thought that was the end of our connection. More than a two hundred years of that connection- gone like  _ that _ ,” Night laughed, “And of course when the pain did kick in, god I wanted to die with her- and that’s putting it lightly. But I was relieved. I was relieved that I could feel her pain until her e-” Night’s choked on his words. Zodiac saw he had reached his limit. “I’m sorry,” Night said, “I don’t know why I’m telling a vampire this. Why would you even care?”

Zodiac stood muttering to himself, “Why indeed?” he smiled to himself. He made out to leave but not before giving Night a piece of advice. “There is no need to hold back. Tears are a luxury that I wish I still had.” 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

“I see you found the clothes I left you.” Zodiac commented and watched as Night walked down the hospital hall toward him and Dream. He was wearing one of Zodiac's vests with a deep blue shirt underneath, and black pants. Night looked as if he was rather uncomfortable being around other humans. Or, Zodiac thought, being in clothing. Probably both. “Do my clothes fit you well?”

“Yes, I suppose they’re fine though I’d rather not be wearing them.” 

Zodiac rose his brows “Oh? It would be improper to undress in front of a crowd such as this, and you would be embarrassed, no?” 

“Clothes are so  _ uncomfortable and restricting _ .” Night muttered angrily to himself. 

Zodiac smiled coyly, “Well if you hate it so much I can-” Dream angrily elbowed him in the rib before he could finished. “I...should let you get to your pack as soon as possible.” he quickly revised.

Night ignored what he assumed was Zodiac’s attempt at flirting and answered with: “I thank you for the clothing. I’ll try to get them back to you as undamaged as possible.”

“What do you intend on doing?”

“Well, Day is gone so I have to step up as the pack leader or else all hell will break loose. Then I plan to find out what exactly it was that attacked us. The beast implied that there were more than one so I would like to know what we’re dealing with.”

Zodiac simply nodded. “Are you not going to take that other werewolf with you?”

“Ah, right, Final. He’s still bit incapacitated. I decided to let him rest here. He’s always getting hurt someway or another so he’ll be fine. Plus Solstice is there with him.”

“If you say so.” Night made out to leave but the vampire called out to him ”Oh, one more thing before you go!” Night stopped and turned. Just enough time for Zodiac to stride up to him and plant a kiss to the werewolf’s lips. 

Night pushed him back almost immediately, though he found himself unable to say anything in protest to the disturbance.

Dream was curious about Zodiac’s actions, “What are you doing?”

“What? I simply gave him a kiss. I am a bit fond of him.”

Night shook himself from his shocked state of mind. “Well if that’s all, I’d like to leave now.”

Zodiac was taken aback by how he had nothing more to say on the matter. “O-of course.” He said brilliantly and watched Night rush out of the building.

“It doesn’t seem like he returns your feelings.” she stated matter-of-factly.

“Must you be so blatant about it?” Zodiac took a moment to collect himself. “Alright, I too want to find out more  about this beast. He attacked one of our own, and though that pathetic vampire resided with the werewolves, I will not stand for this attack to our kind.”

“Would you like me to help?” asked Dream.

“For now, no. However I want someone to look after the remaining werewolves here.”

“¿Porque?”

“Just in case. As Night said earlier, there are more than one of these beasts. Who knows what they are planning to do in the near future. I feel like we may be involved in this at some point.”

“Fine. I’ll get Snow to watch him. She has nothing better to do.”

“Very well. I bid you adieu, my dear.” Zodiac added a little bow before leaving the hospital in search of knowledge.

  
  


\--

  
  


Silence overtook the cave in which the werewolf pack resided. Yeah. that was about the reaction Night expected after relaying to them what had happened to Day and Apocalypse. They had probably seen the bodies themselves but couldn’t bring themselves to believe it. They must have felt it too, probably not as badly as Night did though. He sighed. “I am taking Day’s place as pack leader. Are there any objections?” No one spoke. “Good. I will make sure no harm comes to you all. I am going to see Valence and Elec. Considering how long they’ve been around, they might know something. If anyone wishes to join me, you are welcome to do so.” 

Night broke away from the crowd of wolves and they dispersed amongst the cavern, going about their earlier business, though with the news of Day and Apocalypse’s deaths, less lightheartedly. 

 

“Are you in such a hurry that you won’t perform the bonding ritual with everyone?” a voice, sounding much like a young boy asked. Night looked up to the voice seeing two gray wolves in front of him. “You can’t really be called pack leader without doing it. It’s what links us all to you.”

“Dusk and Dawn? Are you coming with me?”

“Well of course,” Dawn answered.

The other wolf-Dusk- finished for him, “Day  _ was  _ our mother. You must have felt it when she died. We wish to inflict the same amount of pain onto these beasts.”

“You two...Did you feel everything?”

Dawn answered. “We felt what we assume the other werewolves felt. A great pain, which only lasted a second, and then the bond breaking. I imagine that’s not what you felt?”

“N-no.” NIght responded , his chest suddenly hurting. He wondered how long his sister’s pain would linger. “No, it was a lot worse.”

Dusk sighed angrily. “It’s a shame. Even though she was our mother the bond we had was just like any other.”

“I understand,” Night sympathized, “Though I wouldn’t really recommend the feeling of death…Ah-anyway, let’s get a move on. I want to find out what these Amarok are as soon as possible. The forest where Valence and Elec live isn’t that far away so we should hurry. Is Risai planning on coming along with us?"

Dusk started,"Father is out...uh" she trailed of and her brother finished for her:

"Coping."

"I hope he's not taking his anger out on the civilians. It's not really a good time to take on new werewolves."

Dusk shook her head. "I wouldn't get too hopeful. You know our father."

"Right." Night acknowledged with a small sigh. Let's just get going."

  
  
  


\--

  
  


At their speed, Night’s small pack crossed territory from cavelands to woodlands in half a day. Night began to lecture the young wolves at his side. “You have to remember to mind your manners. Valence and Elec are the oldest living purebloods among us.” Dusk and Dawn nodded telling him they understood the situation.

They treaded on through the woods until they came to a clearing; faded green grass and bright red leaves covered the entirety of the ground. The tall trees rose high into the sky, its foliage letting in a few rays of the late afternoon sun. Small little leaf dens lined the clearing and the werewolves resting within them lifted their heads curiously at Night, Dusk, and Dawn. 

Night spoke to them. “I’m looking for Valence and Elec.”

“Look no further.” A voice seemed to bellow throughout the clearing.

 

Further up from where Night was standing there was a magnificent tree, with roots big enough to build houses out of. Two coal black werewolves were waiting there. One standing confidently, basking in the rays of the sun allowed through, the other, who was wearing a necklace adorned with colorful beads and feathers, laying down, as if disinterested with everything else around him.

“It has been quite a few centuries, Night.” The wolf standing spoke.

“Ah, yes.” Night rushed out before bowing respectfully. Dusk and Dawn followed suit.“It’s nice to see you again Valence. You too Elec.”  

Elec who was previously unresponsive turned his head as if just noticing Night was present. “Strange. You don’t appear to be with Day.”

Night nodded. “Yes. My sister has been slain. With me now are her children, Dusk and Dawn.” This seemed to pique both Valence and Elec’s interest. 

Elec rose to a sitting position. “Slain? What is the meaning of this? Surely no human took her down.”

“No,” Night told them, “It’s why I’ve come here to ask the two of you, who have been around so long, something.”

Valence nodded, “Please ask. We shall do our best to provide information.”

 

Night tried to recall the events of the other day. “Have you ever heard of an Amarok?”

Elec stood fully with his brother. “An Amarok?” he repeated

Valence began. “Why yes. The Amarok are the species that we werewolf come from. They are our beginning. They have not been seen for many centuries and are thought to have died off.”

“The Amarok were a fearsome group. Far more violent than we werewolves.” Elec added. “Compared to us, we seem almost docile. They are huge creatures, probably as big as a modern elephant and they don’t have human forms like we do. They were also very strong. It’s said not even an army of men could take down one Amarok.”

Night supposed his pack got lucky.

Valence titled his head. “Why do you ask of the Amarok, Night?”

Night replied. “I am more than certain that is what killed my sister. It announced itself so before killing her and Apocalypse.” 

“But the Amarok are supposed to be extinct!” Elec cried.

“Apparently not.” Night inputted.

“And why are they attacking werewolves?” Elec asked. “We are their successors after they allegedly disappeared. Should we not be allies with the Amarok?”

“According to this one, they’re angry with us, something about ‘making peace with the descendent of their eternal enemy’. Vampires is what I assume he means.” explained Night.

“Hmm, I believe I understand.” Valence spoke. “Vampires: descendants of Blood Bats. Our ancestor the Amarok despised Blood Bats, constantly warring with one another. The battles between them would be bloodbaths. Anyone  involved would never live to see another day. They must take offense that we no longer consider the vampires an enemy. 

Elec huffed angrily. “This is outrageous, we make history only to get shut down for it!”

“Calm yourself, brother. Night, did this Amarok say anything more? Where is it now?”

Dusk spoke before Night could, “Our pack managed to kill it before it did anymore damage.”

Dawn said after her, “It didn’t discover where our pack was however it’s risky to remain in the same place for long.” The two looked confidently at Valence and Elec, though after a bit of silence they thought they overstepped their boundaries that is until Valence made an offer.

“I agree. More of the Amarok will surely return if you have taken down one of their own. It will be dangerous to stay in your caves. Perhaps we can offer the Cave Pack refuge in our woods.”

“Valence!” Elec gasped.

Valence looked to his brother curiously. “What is the matter? There is plenty of space here.”  
Elec shook his head. “No, that’s not an issue, but if we move them here, we put ourselves at risk.”  
“Should we leave our brethren in the hands of these Amarok then?”

Elec growled. “No…”

“We wouldn’t wish to impose.” Night remarked.

“Is it imposing if I have made the offer?” Valence replied. “Do not worry I will not force you to join our pack and vice versa. If you do not mind us residing together, there should be no problem. We are after all allies.”

 

Night thought on it. It was a very tempting offer and would keep his pack out of danger, if only temporarily. “Forgive me. I will have to think on a decision. My pack would probably like to hear this before—Arg!” A sudden pain ran through Night’s body and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily. 

“Night!...Nigh…!”  

Dusk was calling his name. Perhaps everyone was but his vision was clouding and hearing fading just as quickly. This pain...it was the pain he felt earlier at the hospital. Though this time he was feeling all of it; Zodiac wasn’t there to ease his suffering. He found himself longing for the vampire’s bite before his world collapsed into darkness.

 


	4. Chapter 4

The public library, of course, seemed like the most logical place to do some hard research. That’s what Zodiac thought. Books contain aplenty knowledge, surely they will have knowledge on this wolf beast. Of course after visiting the third library within the area, Zodiac was growing tired of the search. He had almost closed the book he was reading, which was spouting just about everything he’d read twenty times over already, until he spotted something new.

“Amarok…? That’s new.” He quickly read through the chapter, finding out everything it provided on the creature. “Interesting…”

“I see you’ve found something.” A voice cut through his thoughts, startling him. Dream was sitting right next him, on the table where he’d stack books pertaining to werewolves, vampires, and anything else occult like. She stared at him with playful brown eyes. 

“Dream, my dear, you should not surprise me like that.”

She chuckled. “Why not? You would never hurt me would you Zoey?” 

Zodiac reached out and caressed her face, trailing sharp nails gently against her jawline. “I would never.” He answered sincerely. 

She smiled. “So, what’s that you’ve got there? I heard you say it was interesting.”

“Yes, it is. I believe the creature that attacked the werewolves is this ‘Amarok’ here.” Zodiac pointed to a depiction in the book. “It says that they are quite ferocious beast and hard to take down in battle.”

Dream tilted her head trying to read some of the text. “Is there anything about a weakness in there? Maybe it’ll help if we encounter more.”

Zodiac flipped through the pages, reading and rereading them. “I do not believe there is a known weakness…I fought the beast myself and I am still unsure. It seems overpowering it may be the best bet for now. Let us hope we do not encounter the beast ourselves.”

“Still,” Dream continued. “What we’ve just found out doesn’t explain why that Amarok attacked. I would think they would at least be indifferent about werewolves.”

“Well this book does say that the Amarok have had an ongoing feud with our predecessor the Blood Bats.”

“Blood Bats? But they—”

“Are supposed to be extinct, yes.” Zodiac cut in. “I assume Amarok are supposed to be too. But if that is what attacked earlier then it is probably safe to assume that there still might be some Blood Bats lurking around. But more importantly,  _ we  _ exist. Vampires.”

Dream’s eyes widened. “Are you saying...because Apocalypse was with them that the Amarok went on a rampage because of him?”

Zodiac nodded, “Although, that is just one part of it, my dear.” He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her wavy brown locks. “The vampires and werewolves— we have made peace with one another, you see? Surely this does not sit well with these Amarok.”

Dream sighed. “Of course. How stupid.”

Zodiac silently agreed and continued to read. “By the way…”Zodiac closed the book in his hands and started placing them back on the shelves from whence they came. “Was there something you wanted?”

“Hm, no nothing in particular.” Dream responded. “You must know by now I enjoy being in your company.” 

“Haha, yes, I suppose it was rather silly of me to ask.” He felt the same way after all. After being together for such an extended period of time, it was almost physically painful for them to be apart from each other. “I suppose the coven must know of the Amarok.” Zodiac said out the blue. “I have a feeling in my gut that we will be involved in something akin to a war.”

“If we were thrown into a war… do you think we would win?” Dream couldn’t help but ask.

Zodiac thought on it. “We are strong but Ah—!” A sudden and sharp pain hit him, causing him to drop the book he was placing; his mind assaulted with images of a forest and, oddly enough, images of Night, but in the next second, everything was back to normal. The pain had faded as well as the images. Zodiac blinked a few times, wondering what in the hell had just happened.

Concerned, Dream asked “Zodiac? Are you alright?”

He shook himself out of his trance. “Y-yes. I believe so.” He bent down to pick up the book and placed it on the shelf safely this time. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing… I was simply lost in thought.” Dream wasn’t convinced but she let it slide. “As for your previous question, we vampires are strong but I don’t think could win a war against a beast like that. Especially several of them. Limiting interaction with them would be the best course of action for all of us. 

“Come let us return to the coven.”

 

\-- 

 

Storm ran her fingers through her bright orange hair and scrunched her deep blue eyes together as if that would help her better remember anything. “I dunno, love. I’m sure that’s it. Did you get all that? I’m sure it was a lot to take in.” 

The other woman Storm spoke to, Snow, nodded her head yes as she rubbed sleep out of her grey eyes. “Yeah, I got it. Watch out for the Amarok. Whatever. When do I get to leave this stupid place? Sleeping in a chair isn’t exactly comfortable.”

“Dream didn’t say. But probably when he wakes up, yeah?” Storm looked to Final, unconscious in the hospital bed. “Shouldn’t take too long. He’s a werewolf after they all and they heal pretty fast.”

Snow huffed angrily. “Yeah, well maybe he should heal faster. I wanna be with you. Wasn’t there another one of his pack here? Where the hell did he go?” she whined.

Storm tousled Snow’s pure white locks. “Who knows? I could stay with you. If you really wanted me to.” 

“No…it’s annoying in this place and I wouldn’t want to put you through that. Plus, Zodiac may need you for something; you never know.”

Storm’s mouth pooched into a pout. “Well if you need anything, love, I’ll be there.” Storm placed a kiss to Snow’s forehead. “Oh and these are for the wolf. They probably won't be his style but they’ll fit. Maybe.” She shrugged and put down a brown paper bag she was carrying on the floor next to Snow’s chair. Afterwards she said more farewells and left, leaving Snow to babysitting.

 

Hours had passed and Snow was fed up. She had turned on the T.V. in the corner of the room hoping it would soothe her boredom or at the very least, be loud enough to wake Final up, but it was a no go and she was getting hungry. So she went roaming around.

“There’s gotta be a blood pouch or two I can grab.” She mused. A nurse was passing her by with a smile. “Excuse me?” Snow called out.

The nurse stopped and turned to her. “Is there something I can help you with miss?”

“Yes,” Snow looked deep into her eyes until the nurse’s mind was under her control. “Do you know where I can find some blood?”

 

After a point in the right direction, Snow grabbed a few bags and made her way back to Final’s room, Though by the time she had reentered the room, after downing one whole blood pouch already, she found he wasn’t quite so unconscious anymore. “Hey you’re up! Finally I can get outta this place.”

“A vamp? What the hell? Where...Where am I?”

“Hospital.” Snow said simply, puncturing another blood bag with her fangs, quickly draining it. Final turned up his nose in disgust. “Don’t you remember why you’re here? You got attacked by the big, bad wolf.” Snow snickered to herself. 

“Wolf?” Final jumped forward when he remembered. “Oh, right! But what about Solstice? And Day?”

“I don’t know that other name but I’m pretty sure, if I heard right, Day is dead.”

“What? No, no, that can’t be right. Day is our pack leader. She can’t die.” 

Snow finished her last blood bag before saying, “Look kid, when people say ‘if I heard right’ it’s usually just a figure of speech. I heard exactly what I was told from our coven leader, Zodiac himself, who was friends with your pack leader, Day. I don’t think he’d mistake that. She  _ is _ dead.”

“But… no.” Final stared blankly at his bed sheets, before burying his face in his hands. “How could this happen? So then… Night must be in charge now.”

“Sure, whatever, I don’t know who that is.” Snow told him. 

Final ignored her, flipping back the covers to leave. “I gotta go.” Snow yelped covering her eyes.

“Idiot, you can’t just leave like...that!” She motioned in his vicinity to point out that he was in fact naked. Final looked down at himself a shrugged.

“I’m a werewolf, who cares?”

“Don’t cause an unnecessary scene!” Snow shoved the paper bag Storm left in his direction. “You can strip out of these once you leave.”

 

Final took the bag from her hand. There was rummaging and rustling and eventually he said: “Ooh these are nice!” 

Snow assumed it was safe to look so she uncovered her eyes. “What the— she gave you  _ that  _ to wear?” she exclaimed, taking in the sight of the redhead in a moss green halter top and black leggings, though he was still barefoot. 

“What? It’s super cute”

Snow did agree the clothes suited him but still. “Those are Storm’s clothes!”

“I don’t know who that is but they’ve got good taste.”

“My  _ girlfriend!  _ Geez, she couldn’t bring something else?”

“I’m glad she brought this. Tell her I said thanks. See ya.” Final didn't make it far out of the door when he heard something. He was almost certain it was a wolf howl. He asked, “Did you hear that?”

Snow shrugged. “Sounds like a wolf. Is it it one of yours?”

Final remained silent, trying to listen in for more howling. After spotting a window in the room he rushed to open it so he could hear more clearly. The light of the moon illuminated the hospital grounds but Final could see anyone wolf like lurking from his position, “Yeah, it's one of mine.” He determined. Final glanced briefly at the moon then turned back around and headed for the door, exiting into the hallway; the lights turned off for the night. A bit curious, Snow followed him.

“What’s it, like a distress call or something?” she asked. Final looked like he was in a rush, but also trying to be cautious, though Snow couldn't figure out why. There wasn't anyone he should be afraid of around. Maybe a few nurses who hadn't had enough sleep but nothing else was particularly strange. “ Are you okay?”

“That cry, it was a summoning and I actually  _ do _ recognize the voice of the caller. If what you told me about Day is true, then this might be bad. ”

“A ‘summoning’?” Snow questioned.

“Yeah, I mean he’s just calling others to gather. Are there any other werewolves here?” he asked.

Snow shook her head, unsure. “Not that I know of. There was a guy with gray hair here before but I don't know where he wandered off too. I figured maybe he'd come back but he never did.”

“Hm...If that's true then who the hell is he calling?” 

 

From one of the rooms, a ruckus caught Final’s hearing. He could hear shuffling and the clattering of various items. Final stealthily pressed an ear up against the door and listened.

“What are you—” Snow was cut off Final shushing and waving her off wildly. She whisper-yelled, “What the hell are you doing?”

He didn't answer immediately. “I think there's a werewolf in there.”

“Is that bad?”

“Well considering there is a full moon out—”

 

Before he finished the door burst open, broken from its hinges,  and Final, still pressed against, flew away along with it. Snow was quick enough to avoid the door and braced herself for what she would encounter.

A werewolf stood in the door frame, making its way into the hall, long claws clicking against the marble floor. It towered over Snow, staring at her with bright yellow eyes and growling lowly.  A passerby screamed after seeing the deformed man - wolf looking creature, and ran away.

Snow prepared herself when it crouched down on all fours and swiftly moved out of the way when the werewolf pounced at her, baring its sharp claws.  Snow kept her eyes focused on the werewolf in front of her to anticipate anymore of its attacks. “I thought the full moon thing wasn't true?” Snow cried, just barely dodging the claws of the wolfbeast. Final stood up brushing off debris from his clothes. 

”It isn’t really,” he explained, “but if it’s the first full moon since someone has been bitten, then that’s a different story.” Final turned at the sound of more doors being broken down from behind him. Two more werewolves came crawling into the hallway, growling fiercely, but not attacking immediately. Final and Snow ended up backing into one another as they tried to think of a way out of this conundrum. 

 

“I’ll transform!” Final suggested but Snow grabbed his arm before he could even flinch. “What?”

She shook her head, “You do that and you’ll ruin the clothes Storm gave you!”

“Are you kidding me?” Final couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They were cute clothes, sure, but any clothes were worth sacrificing in a situation like this. “Forget it.” He was going to ignore her to save them both, but the howling from before came again and the werewolves all perked up at the sound of it, listening intently. Then they were off, all in the same direction. “They’re going to him…!” Final said. Snow was confused but Final didn’t wait for her to get a clue before he dashed off, chasing after the werewolves that had gone.

 

Final ended up outside of the hospital, chasing the werewolves down, with Snow slowly tailing him from behind. They were at the rear of the hospital where there were no people and there was hardly any light. Of course, being a werewolf, Final could see almost perfectly what he was faced with. The three werewolves he had chased down weren’t the only werewolves present. It looked to Final that about twenty, more or less, had gather around and at the center, a large, black werewolf, coat decorated with old, dark scars. The wolf’s gold eyes fell to Final and he laughed.

Final growled. “So it was you, Risai. Just what the hell are you doing?”

“Foolish boy, what does it look like?” answered Risai. “I’ve gathered myself an army.”

“Army? For what?” 

Risai stated simply,, “I’m going to take out those creatures that attacked us, of course.”

Final shook his head, thinking it was an absurd idea. “What, no. Risai that’s a stupid idea. There was only one of those things and it was crazy strong. I almost died. Day  _ did  _ die—”

“Don’t you think I know that!” Risai snapped. “I refuse to sit idle after what they did to her. I will avenge Day.”

“With a bunch of random people you just turned into werewolves?” Final eyed the horde of werewolves that crowded around Risai, “How did you get them to follow you anyway if they’ve just turned?” 

“They’ve simply recognized the alpha.” Risai answered with a wicked grin. 

“Risai, what you’re doing...I don’t think you should go through with it.” Final suggested calmly. “I don’t think you’ve thought about this well enough.”

Risai snarled and the werewolves parted a way for him to stomp toward Final. “Do you expect me to stay idle for this, boy?” Risai’s form was towering over Final, his breath hot on his face. 

“I expect you to step down and stop being an  _ idiot! _ If you fuck this up, you put the entire pack in danger. Did you ever consider how Dusk or Dawn would feel?”

Risai was now growling fiercely and inching closer to Final’s face. “What do intend to do, brat?” The werewolves behind him edged forward with Risai’s rising anger. “Will you stop me?” his eyes shifted to Snow behind him, as if just noticing her presence. “You and this tiny vampire? You wouldn’t stand a chance against all of us.”

In all honesty, Final had forgotten she was there. He turned to look at her and was met with her unsure, grey eyes. “You should probably go.” Final proposed. He couldn’t let her get involved, this was between him and Risai and the safety of the rest of the pack.

Snow straightened, as if the suggestion offended her. “I—”

Final cut in, “You really shouldn’t be concerned with this. It’s werewolf business. Just go back to your coven or whatever.”

Snow wanted to retort—say anything really to make him reconsider his decision, but he was right. She was only watching him per Dream’s orders, to make sure nothing else would harm him while he was unconscious, and now he’s awake. So what was she still doing here? In all honesty she  _ really _ didn’t want to get involved. Which is exactly why she dashed off, leaving Final to fend for himself.

  
  


Risai’s loud laughter filled the air. “You fool. You must have a death wish if you intend to take us all on, alone.” Final did realize how idiotic he was being, but it was better to do something now than to let Riasi do as he pleased.  “I’ll give you one last chance to reconsider.”

Final huffed a small laugh to himself before he transformed, snout growing, nails elongating, canines growing sharper. The clothes Snow gave to him tore from his body as he grew and became more wolflike. He lunged for Risai, but a single howl from the scarred werewolf signaled the others to fall in on Final and attack.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gets a bit heated at the end here so a NSFW warning!

A lazy breeze broke through the forest, caressing through summer green leaves and refreshing the werewolves. There was chatter and scatter about, as, per Valence’s orders, the werewolves were preparing for Night’s cave pack to arrive; which mostly consisted of hunting down extra game for the storage and constructing  comfortable bedding from forests’ resources.

Within the roots of the mighty tree, centered in the clearing, are a series of caves, one of which Night lay, sleeping, though he rather than a wolf, he was human. Elec, also in his human semblance, with warm russet colored skin and long, rich umber hair, still adorned with the beads and feathers he too wore in his wolf formation. 

Elec was glancing over Night’s body once more, to make sure that another problem with his body didn’t arise suddenly. He was particularly interested in the pinkish scar running through the center of his body. Night was stirring and immediately, Elec asked him about it. 

“Where did you get this scar? Was it from battling that Amarok?”

It took Night a moment to process after just waking up; he was mostly confused about why he was in his human form. “I don’t—” he looked down to his own chest to see what Elec spoke of. He was shocked to find the outline of a scar there, running down his chest, jagged and ugly, yet very faint. “What the hell?”

“I take it this isn’t from the fight then?”

Night shook his head, placing a trembling hand against the scar, “I don’t recall receiving a wound like this.”

Elec nodded, “I see. Then I can only assume this is from your sister. She must have been, hm...split in two?” Night answered with a curt nod. “I can’t imagine how that must have felt. You are lucky to be alive. I hear stories of wolves losing their twin; that the physical pain is too much to bear and that those few who have lived through it choose to die shortly after. You—”  
“I have no intention to do such a thing.” Night said immediately. “Though you’re right. The pain is unreal. The pain of dying...”

“I have also heard that it is like a phantom limb pain. Occasionally it will linger then fade. I am uncertain if it will completely go away.” Elec noticed Night’s especially glum expression, “Truly, I am sorry for your loss. Day was a great leader and quite cheerful. She seemed to liven up her pack whenever she was present.”

“God damn it!” Night exclaimed, pounding a fist into his bed of leaves. Tears streamed down his face. “I hate that she really is gone! She was protecting me and I can’t help but feel like I got her killed.”

“I understand that you feel guilty,” began Elec, “But you can’t let Day’s sacrifice be in vain. It wasn’t just you she died for, it was her entire pack. Now, if these Amarok proceed to be a threat amongst us, it will be up to you to carry out her will.”

Night choked back what he wanted to say, finding them strangely depressing and out of character for him to say. He took a few moments to compose himself. “Where are Dusk and Dawn?”’

“You were out for about a day now so they decided to head back to your pack and tell them of what they learned, as well as to inform them about our hospitality.However, I would imagine that your pack would like to hear that from the  _ actual  _ pack leader and not the former leader’s children.”

“Yes, of course.” Night agreed and transformed. “I should get going then. Thank you for your care. I will return here soon.” Elec nodded as he watched Night take off.

 

—

Night immediately sensed a discourse near his caves. As he neared the entrance the wolves of his pack looked to Night in relief, as if his presence were the solution to whatever was happening. They began to flock to him, making Night feel claustrophobic. “What is wrong with all of you?”

Many voices came to him at once. “Is it true about those giant wolves?”, “Are there really more of those things?”, “Are we really leaving the caves?” ,“What is with the vamp that’s here?”,  “Should we disband the pack?”, “You don’t look well, Night. You should rest.”, “Are we safe, Night?”, 

 

Night shook his head, “Calm down all of you. And back up, there’s a vampire here?”

Someone spoke up, “That’s right. He was looking for you and he said it was urgent.”

As if on cue, a figure, Night immediately recognized as Zodiac, emerged from the crowd of werewolves. He was wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses to protect himself from the late afternoon sun, and looking almost disturbingly underdressed for him. “Leave us,” Night commanded and the wolves quickly scattered, leaving Zodiac and Night with moderate privacy. “What are you doing here?”

“This concerns the safety of you and your pack. You all are most likely in even greater danger than you were before and I suggest you leave the caves now.” Zodiac stated all at once.

“Zodiac, explain yourself. What’re you talking about?”

“That wolf of yours you left in our care, at the hospital was maimed—”

“What? Is Final alright? Was it another Amarok?”

“Yes, the boy lives but just barely. And no, it was not an Amarok. One of mine says that it was a wolf from your pack and a bunch of other werewolves that she believed to be just turned. She says that the werewolf acting as the leader bore many scars on his coat.”

Night’s eyes widened in realization. “Risai…! Damn, I shouldn’t have left him unchecked after what happened to Day.”

“Night, Snow informed me that he was going to seek out the Amarok and avenge Day. If he has already done this you and your pack need to leave immediately. The Amarok have already been around these caves. They could be coming here.”

Night argued. “It’s unlikely that he actually encountered the Amarok. None of us actually know where they are. You’re right, however, I think I should find Risai. Dusk! Dawn!”

“Night, I do not think that is a wise choice. What if you were to get hurt?”

“I appreciate the concern, Zodiac, but Risai is part of my pack so I’m responsible for him.”

Zodiac sighed and bit out. “If you insist.” 

 

“You called Night?” Dusk and Dawn said together as they both walked toward him, though taking caution of Zodiac. 

“I’m going to need one of you to come with me to search for Risai.”

Dusk tilted her head. “Father? What do you mean ‘search’?”

“From what I’ve just heard, he rose an army to find the Amarok to avenge Day.”

“What?” exclaimed Dawn. “What the hell is wrong with him? I know he's angry and impulsive but this is just stupid.” 

“But, there isn't any chance he would have found them, is there?” Dusk asked.

“I don't think so,” Night told her, “But even so he's put us all in danger by taking this action. He’s already attacked one of our pack. Clearly he has no concern for our safety anymore.”

“So...what does that mean?” Dawn asked tentatively.

“Risai’s crossed the line this time. He can't be one of this pack anymore. I know he's your father but—”

“It's fine. Father's clearly become a nuisance,” Dusk declared. “I want to go with you Night. I'll kill him myself if I have to.”

“Dusk…Don't you think that's a bit much?”  Dawn asked.

She shook her head in response, “Not when it comes to Father, no.”

Dawn lowered his head in defeat. “Okay then. If you're going with Night, what should I do?”

“I need you to take charge and move the pack the the forest while we're gone. Can you handle that?”

Dawn nodded “Of course,” He assured and broke away from them to start issuing orders to the rest of the pack.

Night turned to Zodiac. “Did your friend have  any idea which direction Riasi might have headed?”

“Yes as a matter of fact. She said that he was heading North of the hospital. I would imagine that he is going toward the mountains, though I am not sure what he will find there. Or you for that matter.”

“ Zodiac we'll be fine. You've been very helpful and I thank you. Let's go Dusk.” 

Zodiac watched as Night and Dusk ran north, beginning their search for Risai. Irritation ran through him, increasing as Night became more and more distant.He clenched a fist and cursed himself as he began to follow behind them. 

 

\--

 

“Oh my god…! This is really awful!” Dusk exclaimed. She and Night had  managed to make it to the mountains within the day but the moon was now bright in the sky, though clouds were rolling in like it would begin to storm. Once they did reach the base of the mountains though, they were met with tragedy. Bodies littered the ground, some as a wolf, some as a human. Blood painted the ground, caution signs warning travelers of landslides, and surrounding trees a horrid vermillion and separated appendages were strewn about like dead leaves. “How could Father lead these people to such destruction?”

“Don’t let your guard down,” Night warned, “Clearly something happened here. We don’t know if whatever did this is still here.” 

Dusk nodded and treaded carefully, eyes watching; ears listening. They climbed higher and the bodies thinned out, though the higher they went, the harder it was for the two to climb with ease, as the dirt was very loose and would give away with the slightest touch, causing a lot of tripping and sliding.

Dusk’s ears twitched, picking up a low rumbling sound. She stopped walking and focused, “Night, do you hear that?”

“I do.” Night was looking around to see where such a loud rumbling could have been coming from. Both wolves flinched when something huge and black hit the ground a couple feet away from them. It rolled down the slope, stopping at Night’s feet. Night was so shocked by its sudden appearance and he didn’t immediately recognize what it was. Dusk however did.

“Father!?” She rushed to Risai’s bloody and motionless body, nudging him for a response. 

Growling, Risai lifted himself to his arms and scowled at Night. “What are  _ you _ doing here?And why did you bring  _ her? _ ” Risai’s hard gaze shifted to Dusk. 

“We came to stop you from doing something foolish, Father. What did this to you?”

“Heh, if you managed to find me here, then you know what I came up here for.” Risai answered. As soon as the words left his mouth, the rumbling Night heard from before grew louder and two Amarok revealed themselves from the verdure not so far ahead; One bore bright, silver colored fur, the other dark as a moonless sky. Risai sprang up and charged forward at the Amarok with darker fur, tearing furiously at its thick skin. The other Amarok fell on him, intending to pull Risai away but despite his injuries, Risai was quick to react and jumped on the other Amarok before it could do anything. He must have torn some sort of artery in the Amarok because there was a great spray of blood followed by an angered roar from that Amarok.

At first Night and Dusk stood by, watching Risai,  simply amazed by his ferocity, but when one of the Amarok sent him tumbling down the hill again,  Dusk insisted that they aid him. “He may have brought this up on himself but he's still one of us— he's still my father!”

Night nodded, agreeing with her and ran toward both Amarok. Dusk slammed her body into the black one and Night took on the silver one, though its fur was now blotched red with its own blood. Night tackled down the silver Amarok down fairly easily as it was both wounded and taken off-guard. The loose ground gave away and the Amarok was sliding downhill, Night, still biting at it ferociously, going along with. 

Once the silver Amarok regained its balance, it ripped Night from itself and tossed him aside. Night hit the ground hard, but Risai darted pass, jumping up and clamping his jaws around the Amarok, crushing its throat. The Amarok scrambled trying to pull Risai off, but the ground gave away once more and the Amarok fell to the ground, allowing Risai to finish the job. He looked to Night, licking his bloodied chops before running back up to finish off the other Amarok.

 

Dusk was holding her own against the black Amarok relatively well. She hadn’t been in too many fights such as this, but kept her distance when she needed to and took advantage of her smaller size she had over the Amarok. She kept moving while her eyes were trained on the Amarok before her. It was looking at her almost humorously so. A guttural voice spoke to her:

“Puny wolf, you do not stand a chance against me.” it took a step toward her and Dusk took a step back, almost slipping. “You are clearly inexperienced and afraid.” Even though it was correct, she refused to be baited by its words. Her intense focused was broken by a loud clap of thunder and an almost immediate downpour, soaking her coat. Immediately discomforted, Dusk shook her body, forgetting that her life was in danger until the Amarok slammed into her unsuspecting body. She flew back and hit the ground with a harsh whimper, sliding in the mud. 

She had little time to recover, before the Amarok towered over her and stepped down on her body, pressing her body deep into the mud; its claws bared to end her. Dusk struggled but it was futile. The Amarok laughed at her efforts, cut short by the growls followed by Risai jumping up onto its back and using the most of his strength to pull the Amarok off of Dusk. 

“Get up Dusk! I didn’t raise a weakling!” he ordered.

Dusk rose, as commanded. “F-father, you know I haven’t fought something like this before.”

“Don’t be such a cow—” Risai’s scolding was cut short when the Amarok shook him from its body. 

It turned to eye Risai, gaze shifted to Night who appeared soon after. It spoke, “Ulva must be dead if you two are here. He is weak, like all the others. To be taken out by a mere werewolf, they are a disgrace to all Amarok.”

Night couldn’t help but wonder about the “others” this Amarok spoke of. He looked to Risai for answers.

He simply bore his teeth, into what could have been a grin and said, “You don’t know the extent of my rage.” He charged at the Amarok again with a wild cry, but it simply smacked him aside with a giant arm. Night and Dusk growled wildly of fell onto the Amarok, they two tossed aside like rag dolls, 

“I won’t be taken down so easily,” the Amarok told them, “I am not weak like Ulva and the others. You tiny wolves don’t stand a chance.” 

Risai dashed back up, not caring for the Amarok’s words, jumping into another attack, but he was once again swatted away. However Night and Dusk attacked while the Amarok was preoccupied and managed to tackle it into the mud, tearing away at its arms and legs. Unfortunately the advantage they had was short-lived. The Amarok thrashed about violently, shaking NIght and Dusk from itself. 

They kept their distance when they could; Risai however was adamant on being in the Amarok’s face. No matter how many times he was tossed away or thrown into the ground, he would get right back up challenging the Amarok. Night wanted to help him engage, but if either he or Dusk even tried to help, Risai would lash out at them too. He didn’t seem to understand that frontal attacks just weren’t going to work on this Amarok like they did the others. 

 

“Father can’t last much longer,” Dusk said to Night, “He’s too wounded and no doubt the rain is affecting him too.”

“He refuses think rationally…” Night thought on it. “I’ll make him listen, then maybe we can work something out. Stay out of trouble.” Night stealthily moved toward Risai, trying to stay out of the Amarok’s sights. It was far too occupied brawling with Risai to notice Night was drawing closer. Perhaps it was simply amused with Risai's tenacity that it forgot about him and Dusk.

Risai was clawing and biting, but the injuries he was inflicted were nothing compared to the one's the Amarok gave Risai; deep lacerations covered him, leaving Risai a bleeding mess of a werewolf. The Amarok’s claws were huge and sharp enough to run Risai through. He was lucky it hadn't happened already. Though Night was impressed with Risai’s stamina and endurance, he had to stop Risai from doing anymore before he got himself killed.

Night lowered into a crouch when he saw Risai getting ready to attack again and pounced on the other werewolf, pinning him into the wet ground. Risai growled and snapped at him like he was feral animal. “ _ What the hell are you doing!?” _

“You have got to get your shit together!” Night snapped at him. “If you keep this up you’re going to die!” He could hear the Amarok drawing closer but he tried to remain focused on Risai. 

Risai snarled, “Idiot, that thing will kill us both if you don’t let me go!" He tried to push himself upward but Night forced him back down by the neck. 

“You  _ will  _ listen to me.” Night ordered firmly. “Day wouldn’t want you to throw your life away like this. And before you ask me what I would know about it let me tell you that you have no how her death has affected me.” 

Risai glared into Night’s gaze, but eventually he calmed himself and submitted. “Fine.” Night let Risai up, approving of his change in attitude. Immediately Risai darted away. Night was smart enough to follow before the Amarok could crush the both of them under its weight.

“You want me to listen so badly, you must have a plan or something?” Risai questioned.

“Not really, but we can’t just leave, that’ll only cause more trouble.” Night took a moment to think. “How long have you been fighting them?” 

“Probably all day.”

“It’s got to be a little tired. Hm...Stay back a while and let me and Dusk handle it for just a bit.” proposed Night. 

Risai was reluctant to agree to such a vague command but he obeyed. “I will along with this. Whatever you plan to do better work out.”

 

Night took off but not before dashing underneath the Amarok, almost tripping it up. The Amarok, easily forgetting about Risai, turned its attention to Night as well as Dusk who stepped up beside him.

 

The Amarok had no more words, focusing on attacking the two. They moved quickly to avoid the Amarok, using nearby trees to cover themselves and tripping it in the mud whenever possible. The Amarok only became more frustrated with Night and Dusk. Its giant arms slammed tree trunks, leaving them pointed stumps. 

But this was good. Night could see the Amarok growing more and more tired after exerting so much energy in a short span of time. It was only after Dusk tripped up the Amarok once again and it let out an enraged roar that Night shouted: “Now Dusk!”

While the Amarok was still in the ground,  Dusk turned quickly bite through both of the muscles of the Amarok’s popliteal, rendering its legs useless. She then dashed to its free arm, Night had already crippled the other, and tore at it with sharp fangs. Risai, stealthily shadowing Night, realized this this was his chance to strike. He lunged for its throat, latching on and ripping off a chunk of flesh.

The Amarok let out a guttural screech, blood bubbling from its mouth, but the Amarok wasn't finished. With its massive head, it knocked Risai away. Dusk quickly distanced herself but Night was snatched up by its jaws and tossed into the air. He had the misfortune of landed on one of the broken stumps, getting impaled by the sharp bark.

“Night!” Dusk exclaimed, planning to head his way but the Amarok was before her, standing. It should have been impossible but there it was, towering dangerously over Dusk. She stood her ground, growling viciously at the Amarok. She not expect another giant creature to land in front of her, the landing shaking the ground beneath Dusk’s feet. 

What was before her was amazingly a dragon, spiked tail and all. It let out a deafening shriek at the Amarok before knocking it away with its tail. He turned his eye to Dusk, who braced herself for an attack even though the poor pup was shaking with her tail between her legs.

“Do not fear me, child, I have come to help you.” The dragon’s form faded away, Zodiac replacing where it once stood. 

“Z-Zodiac, right?” Dusk stuttered.

“Correct. But now is hardly the time for introductions. Night!” Zodiac reminded her impatiently.

“Oh, right!” Dusk ran over to where Night had the mishap of landing. The sharp edge was long and had run Night through his abdomen. He was unconscious either from pain or shock, thus he had reverted back to his human form. “Hell, that must have hurt.” Dusk couldn’t help but say. 

Zodiac refused to add any comments he may have had and proceeded to break through the part impaling Night instead of immediately removing him from it so that he wouldn’t bleed out, and held Night close to him. 

“Hey, do you feel that?” Dusk asked. There was an intense quaking that only grew stronger. It was only when it was far too late to avoid and the mud had crashed into them that they had recognized the existence of the landslide. It was quite strong, destroying trees it came into contact with and pushing Zodiac and Dusk along with it. Zodiac couldn’t break free, his stamina wasted on a transformation, but he did his damndest to keep his and Night’s head from going under. They had reached a ledge, and though there was road down below, it was a considerable drop not worth taking. Zodiac managed to latch onto something stable and unaffected by the ever-flowing mud, though it was hard to manage a sturdy grip with Dusk hanging onto his leg by her teeth, weighing him down. It didn’t seem like this object he had grabbed would stay put for long.

Zodiac looked upwards and downwards for anything that could potentially help them out of the situation. Another transformation would be appreciated, but it would take hours for Zodiac to muster that much stamina again. His grip was also slipping. “Wolf,” He called out, “Are you lighter in your human form?”

Dusk answered, “I—maybe, but I—”

“Please, modesty is the last of your problems right now!” Zodiac’s words seemed to ring true to Dusk as her weight lightened. Of course this was only a temporary relief for Zodiac since they were still in a bad situation. His head shot up when he heard the distinct sound of growling, cursing everything he could when he met eyes with the black Amarok, lingering over them, taking the brunt of the landslide. Zodiac was amazed the mud hadn’t swept it away yet, it was clearly struggling to stay upright with its injuries. 

“Abominable vampire!” It cried. No matter what, Zodiac could not counter the beast, lest they take a possibly fatal drop. Fatal for the werewolves anyway, Zodiac was more than sure he would be fine. Dusk struggled to climb Zodiac’s body until she was sitting on his shoulders.

“What are you doing, child?” Zodiac asked through gritted teeth. It was becoming a struggle to hold the both her and Night like this. 

“Don’t worry about me, just take care of Night. His life is more important than mine.” Dusk said before jumping from Zodiac’s shoulders and onto the Amarok, shifting back to her wolf form mid jump, and attacking the Amarok’s face, but the Amarok was quick to counter and caught her in its mouth, tossing her right off the ledge. Zodiac watch her fall wide-eyed, but unable to act.

Something else was coming, something that was moving fast. It was Risai, who jumped onto the Amarok, knocking off its balance, and launched himself from the ledge, shooting at Dusk. His trajectory pushed her diagonally toward the other cliffside, and thankfully onto a small landing. Dusk’s head collided hard with the wall knocking her out, but she was safe. Risai however, didn’t quite make it onto the landing with her and fell to the ground below. The Amarok also fell not managing to hold onto its balance, but not before swatting Zodiac from the edge he was holding. Now he too was falling toward the pavement below whilst being swallowed by the mud falling onto them.

 

\--

Snow was pacing back and forth in the hospital hallway and biting her nails horribly. She was in a different hall this time since the previous one had been a subject to “bear attacks.” Occasionally Snow would stop to look at the door to the room she was lingering in front of, then shake her head, continuing to pace around.

Storm had had enough of it. “Love, will you cut it out and just go in there?”

Snow shook her head in protest to the suggestion. “You don’t understand Storm. I left him there to die. I’m the absolute worst person on the planet.”

“Snow, listen,” Storm moved to grab her girlfriend by the shoulders and look her straight in the eye. “You aren’t a bad person. You literally went to go get help as soon as you left."

“But see what happened to him,” Snow argued. If she were able to cry, she most likely would have been in tears, “I should have stayed. I shouldn’t have been such a sissy.”

“I’m glad you were a sissy. I wouldn't have wanted those werewolves to harm you.” Storm rubbed Snow’s shoulders, trying to comfort her. “Just go in. It’ll be fine. I’ll be out here waiting for as long as it takes, babe.” She gave Snow a quick peck to the lips and shoved her toward the door. Snow froze for a moment, her hand outstretched as if wondering whether to turn the knob or not. Another push from Storm seemingly gave her the courage to turn the knob and go in. Storm sighed in relief and leaned up against the wall. 

 

Inside, Snow nervously looked at Final who briefly glanced up at her curiously before he went back to what he was doing before. “O-oh, you-you, uh, you’re awake. Sorry, I thought you would be out of it.” He was inspecting his body to see the damage done. Snow took in his heavily bandaged chest and face, the sling on his left arm. The covers covered his lower half, but she could only imagine what else had been done. “I don’t understand…” Snow began, catching Final’s attention again he tilted his head as if prompting her to explain. “You looked so awful when we first found you. Those hospital people fixed you right up I guess.”

“Yeah, but also remember, I’m a werewolf. I heal quickly. Actually, this kind of shit happens to me a lot.” Final tried to move his arm in the sling. “Ah, fuck! That’s super broken, shit…!”

“So… you aren’t angry that I left you there to fight alone?”

“Huh? I told you to leave, why would I be mad? I didn’t wanna get some vampire chick I just met involved with stupid werewolf business.”  He tried to move his legs underneath the covers, finding that they were intact and functional, if just a bit sore. “Huh, I guess it probably looks worse than it actually is. Probably won’t be in here long.” Final narrowed his eyes at Snow inquisitively. “You helped me anyway, didn’t you? Even though we don’t even know each other.”

“Well, yeah. I felt bad leaving you there alone.”

Final laughed a bit“Thank you...Um, actually I don’t think we ever introduced each other. I’m Final.”

“Oh, it’s Snow.”

“Heh, that’s a cute name. Thank you, Snow.” 

The comment surprised her. “Yeah, no problem.” With nothing more to say, Snow shortly excused herself from the room. She was absolutely giddy that Final wasn’t mad at her, and he even thanked her!

“Oi, love, what’re you smiling about?” Storm asked, eyebrows raised curiously at Snow.

“Storm, Final—that werewolf, he was awake! And he wasn’t mad I left, he actually didn’t want me to get involved. And he thanked me for getting help!”

“See, love, I told you. You were all worked up for nothing.” Storm pulled Snow into a loving embrace. “So, the kid’s awake, you can finally come home now right?”

Snow nodded, “Yeah, I think so. I’ve missed you so much! I can’t wai—”Snow cut herself off after she felt a strong but familiar presence close by. She glanced down the hall seeing Dream walking toward them. Storm turned to look too, somewhat shocked by her presence. She was walking toward them, almost robotically. It looked like she hadn’t even realized some of her own were there.

“Dream?” Storm called out to her. Dream looked her way, her eyes weren’t focused like she was in a trance. “You all right?” 

“What?” Dream responded absently. A moment later she seemed to realize where she was and that she was talking to someone. “Huh, Storm? And Snow? This is...the hospital?”

Storm asked again, “Are you all right?”

“It's pretty late,” Snow said. “Why are you here instead of at the hotel?

“Zodiac has been gone all day and, as a side effect to my long term imprint to him, I feel obligated to find him before I lose my mind. Snow, I recall you were with him earlier? Something about the werewolves?”

“I was,” admitted Snow, “Last night, I went to him to help Final. I explained what I overheard from the werewolves that attacked him and then he said he was going to see the other werewolves to warn them. After that I hung out here and eventually I fell asleep. I don’t know anything afterwards. I figured he would have been back to the hotel before sunrise.”

“He hasn’t been back. And I’m sensing a lot of distress coming from him right now. I’m afraid he might be in trouble.” 

“Maybe not.” Storm suggested, trying to calm Dream, “Could be you two have been apart for too long and he’s getting antsy just like you.”

“Mmm…” Dream shook her head. “It doesn’t feel that way.”

Snow asked, “Did you already check near the caves? He could still be with the werewolves.”

Dream nodded yes. “It was one of the first places I checked. Surprisingly, no one was there. The werewolves who lived there were all gone.”

“They probably took action after Zodiac’s warning…”Snow deduced. She thought more on Zodiac’s actions and everything they discussed the previous night in order to help her think about where he could have gone. “It’s possible that he may have gone toward the mountains.”

Dream narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Why would he do that?”

“Well, I saw the werewolves go in that direction not too long after I left to get help. After I told Zodiac that, that’s when he said he would warn the other wolves. I don’t know maybe something happened that made him go there.”

“I will go and see then. I appreciate the help.” Dream turned and began to walk down the hall, away from the couple.

“Wait,” Storm called out to her, “You’re going alone? Maybe we can help you find him.”

“No, you cannot come. I appreciate your intentions but I cannot allow you two would put your lives in danger. Even with proper coverage, you two are far too young to resist burning in the sun. I will return, probably much later. If I’m am not back within two days feel free to search for me.” With that, Dream parted with her coven members in search of Zodiac.

 

\--

It had been hours. Several hours more than Zodiac could stand. He was alive and Night was as well, but he had a limited amount of time packed under the mud like this. They were lucky enough to be trapped along with a sufficient pocket of air, though Zodiac didn't necessarily need to breath and left it for Night.  After Zodiac regained consciousness, he had been clawing upward  at one spot to escape the underground hell. 

Occasionally he checked on Night, as he was low on oxygen and blood. He appeared to be fine, Zodiac however wasn’t fairing as well. He wasn’t bleeding out or anything serious but he was rapidly losing what remained of his sanity. He was exhausted from digging that resulted in and the prolonged period of being away from Dream was making him spacey and irritable. On multiple occasions he had to tell himself to focus. “Night’s life is in danger, get it together Zodiac!” He went back to clawing at the mud but after a few moments of that he was zoning out again. 

He had to have dug upward about six feet but it seems the surface was still out of reach. He was so tired. So hungry... 

Zodiac’s eyes shifted to Night. He hovered a hand over his face to check that he was still breathing, then his fingers traced his neck, feeling his weak pulse.  Pulse. Blood. Zodiac’s eyes lingered at the nape of Night's neck, then his wound, still bleeding. Night wouldn’t mind if he just had a little taste right? Just a taste...

Zodiac lifted Night for better access to his neck. His mouth was watering with anticipation, his fangs inches away from penetrating the skin. 

“No! What am I doing?” Zodiac snapped at himself. He gently placed Night back down and mentally scolded himself. He was hundreds of years old and yet displaying an impulse control of a newly turned vampire. He went back to digging but it was difficult for him to focus when he was suffering so much.

”Huh?”  Zodiac rose his head. He felt something. It was— “Dream?!” He was certain he felt Dream close by and began clawing violently at the mud. It had to be a few more feet before it became loose dirt and eventually broke away to the surface. “Dre—” Zodiac’s call was cut off when the sun's rays struck his hand and face. He hissed wildly and retreated back inside the hole, avoiding the light, his burned parts smoking quite a bit. “Dream!” he tried again. 

It didn't take her long to find the hole and respond. “Zodiac, what has happened to you?”

“I would love to explain at a more appropriate setting, please. Night is down here with me and he needs medical assistance quickly. There are other werewolves as well.”

 

Dream huffed angrily. She had come all this way for Zodiac, risking her life in the sunlight,  and he doesn't even seem to care; the werewolves are more important. She slid a cloak, gloves, and sunglasses down into the hole Zodiac created. “Put these on so you don't die.”

She waited a few moments before Zodiac, now properly covered, emerged from the hole along with Night, injured and unconscious. Dream watched, feeling bitter about the entire situation. “Well then, where are the others?”

He was taken aback by her harsh tone but he turned his head upward and told her, “There that ledge there,” he pointed to it so that Dream could see. Immediately she was gone, Zodiac almost didn't see her move but in a second she was up on the ledge and in another she was beside him again cradling Dusk in her arms. 

“There was one other but I believe that he was buried in the landslide.”

Dream suppressed an irritated groan. “Forget it. He’s probably dead. You want him to live don’t you?” Dream jerked her head at Night and moved on without any confirmation from him.

 

Just to get out of the sunlight quicker, they ended up back at their hotel. They had several members from their coven who specialized in the medical field look over both Night and Dusk. 

Zodiac was in the room given to Night, frantically asking about him. Destiny, one of his that had been around almost as long as he and Dream, pulled her strawberry-blonde hair out of its ponytail after stitching up his wound, smiled at him and answered. “Don’t worry, he’ll pull through.” Once Zodiac heard that he would be fine he sighed in relief and seemed to visibly relax. Dream rolled her eyes. “As for you, I would advise you drink some blood so that these burns can heal faster. Fresh blood.” Destiny said, her hand hovering over his badly scorched face. 

“I will once I get the chance.” Zodiac told her.

“B-but it would probably be if—”

Dream cut in “Once he gets the chance Destiny. Now leave.”

“B-but I— I mean, y-yes of course.” 

Destiny hurried out of the room and Zodiac immediately cut his eyes to Dream. “What is your problem? You have been acting extremely hostile for some time now.”

“My problem,” Dream started yelling so suddenly that it caught Zodiac off guard, “is that  _ you  _ were gone all day and you didn’t even tell me where you were going. I was worried and  _ literally _ losing my damn mind over you! And it just feels like you don’t even care about me! And then you go and bring these damn werewolves back home! What the hell is  _ your problem!” _

“My dear—”

“Don’t ‘my dear’ me!”

Zodiac revised his words, “Dream, I am truly sorry for what I have put you through. It was not my intention to put so much stress on your shoulders. And once the werewolves are well enough, they will leave. So please, will you forgive me?”

Dream considered his words but once Night began stirring and Zodiac whipped his head in his direction, Dream sucked her teeth. “¡Eres un tonto y no entiendes nada!” She snapped and abruptly left.

Zodiac was confused but he didn’t dwell on her for long as Night was waking. “How are you faring?”

Night’s bright eyes glanced over to Zodiac wearily. “Zodiac…?” he suddenly shot up, instantly regretting it. His hand flew to his wound instinctively and he groaned out his pain. “What…why are you here? Where am I? What happened to that Amarok? Where is Dusk? And Risai?”

“Do not worry, the Amarok is dead and Dusk is fine. She is resting in another room. However, this Risai, I’m sorry we did not have enough time to look for him. He may have perished. There was a landslide and he risked his life to save Dusk.”

“You, you followed us?” Night asked. Zodiac nodded in response. “I suppose I must thank you again. You seem to have a knack for saving my life.” 

Zodiac chuckled. “I would not go that far. I have only done so twice.”

“Still,” Night continued, “by the looks of it, you’ve gone to a great length to do so.”

Zodiac realized Night was referring to his burned face and arm. “Do not worry about this. I only need blood to fix this. Oh…” Zodiac suddenly recalled Destiny’s words and realized he did not want to do what he needed to.

“What’s wrong?” Night queried.

“I need fresh blood, but that would require I feed from a human. I have not done that in so long and I do not wish to. It is against my own principles.” He sighed, “Surely a blood bag will do just fine…”

“If you need blood, I can help you with that.” Night suggested. With a simple toss of his head, he left his neck exposed for Zodiac. The way he looked was so enticing and Zodiac had just remembered his hunger from before. 

“No, no, Night I—”

“It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me and my pack.”

Zodiac sighed and gave in. He didn’t feel like resisting his vampiric urges anymore, his hunger was too great and he had a volunteer. He sat on the ledge of the bed and placed his hands on Night’s shoulders, glancing at him one last time to make sure he didn’t have any second thoughts. Night, however, closed his eyes in response and allowed Zodiac to proceed. 

Night grimaced when Zodiac bit him but the pain eventually faded away. Night recalled Zodiac saying that vampires could make it so when they fed off others it was not painful. He found it weird yet surprisingly pleasant.  Too pleasant. He was beginning to feel a bit hot and only when a moan threatened to escape his mouth did Night voice his discomfort. He pushed Zodiac away from him, with great force.

Zodiac took several moments to process before he realized what he had done. “Oh, oh! I apologize! Forgive me! It had been a while since I have fed properly. That was not my intention! Ah, but I still have to close the bite!” Zodiac grabbed Night again, ignoring his struggling and holding him still. He sighed knowing that nothing good could come from what he was about to do. Eventually he got it over with and licked the bite wound he had created. 

Night couldn’t help himself this time and a loud moan fell from his lips and he pressed himself into Zodiac wantonly. Awkwardly, Zodiac let go of Night and took a step back, leaving him a panting mess on the bed. It seemed as if Night was trying to glare at him, but to Zodiac, he looked… titillating. 

Zodiac had to turn away quickly, before his thoughts got carried away. His wounds had mostly healed, his skin only showing a light pinkish area instead of a badly scorched black and red. He was done here. “Night, I am sorry. Truly, it was not my intention to… do this to you. I will leave. ” Zodiac turned to leave but Night caught him by the wrist.

“Wait! Can’t you undo this?” 

“No, it does not work that way.” Zodiac glanced back again at Night’s pitiful state. Fine. He put this mutt in heat, he might as well do something about it. Luckily, Night was nude by default. He flipped back the covers and grabbed the very hard appendage, stroking briskly. Night gasped, having no time to protest again Zodiac’s actions and instead  **_buck_ ** ing into his hand and whimpering helplessly. His needy moans were filling Zodiac’s ear, hips violently thrusting until Night threw his head back, stiffening at his release, covering Zodiac’s hand with his semen.

Slowly, Night melted back onto the bed, his hands covering his face, Zodiac figured it was from utter humiliation, though he found himself amazed by Night’s face during his orgasm; it was a rather beautiful sight. Of course, this entire situation shouldn’t have happened so he quickly dismissed his thoughts, wiped his hand off with some tissues Destiny had left in the room when cleaning Night’s wound, and left so that he would not further torture Night with his presence.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end Dream is speaking Spanish. She calls Zodiac a fool and says he doesn't understand anything.
> 
> He is a bit of a dunce.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days had passed since the werewolves took refuge within Zodiac’s hotel. Many of his coven members found their presence disconcerting; even though this coven in particular was very friendly with werewolves, they still couldn’t completely put themselves at ease. Of course, they had to get over it quickly, lest they suffered some agonizingly long lecture from Zodiac.

Dusk’s wounds weren’t as serious as Night’s. She actually was up and about just a few hours after she was taken to the hotel; so she took to exploring it while Night was out of commision. She never really hung out anywhere other than her pack, so being around both humans and vampires while also in her human form was  both an interesting and uncomfortable experience for her. However, the vampires were very nice to her and Snow even let Dusk borrow some of her clothes, mostly because Snow was the only one there who was roughly Dusk’s size. 

The free time was nice and all, but Dusk was concerned about the well-being of the rest of the pack. She felt Dawn’s consciousness nagging at her. They weren’t close enough that she could speak to him telepathically, but she attempted to ease his anxiety with calming thoughts.

Dusk decided she would talk to Night. She hadn’t seen him since they got here. She figured his injuries were more severe and that he required more rest, but still, this was urgent. She recalled the room number Zodiac told her that Night was staying. She had almost reached her destination when she stopped herself. Zodiac was standing in front the the door to Night’s room. His arm was raised as if he wanted to knock, but he never did and instead dropped it dejectedly and muttered something quietly under his breath.

 

“Zodiac?” Dusk called out to him quietly. Zodiac flinched, startled and turned his head toward her.

“D-dusk? Hello. How are you faring?”

“I’m doing alright. Is Night inside?” She asked.

Zodiac hesitated. “I believe so. I must have been in the way. Please, if you need something from him, I am leaving now.”  He hurried off quickly as if Dusk had offended him but she carried on and knocked on Night’s door. There was no response after a while so she knocked again. Eventually the door swung open, revealing Night wearing loose sweatpants but no shirt, and looking somewhat annoyed. 

“Oh, Dusk.” He said drily. 

“I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?” She asked.

Instinctively Night’s hand went to his bandaged abdomen. “The wound was deep but I’ll be fine.”

Dusk was relieved to hear it. “So then, we’ll be able to leave soon?”

“Leave?”

“Yes, Dawn has been bothering me constantly. I think we should get back to the pack quickly. I’m sure it’s been hectic. And… I need to tell him about Father.”

Night sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, soon…” he said absently. “Soon…”

“Night?”

In response, NIght shook his head and looked Dusk in the eye. “I need to rest. Leave me.”

Dusk would have listened any other time since Night was her superior. But he was also her family and she knew something was off about him. The door was just about to close on her when she stopped it with her palm and called out to Night. “Wait, Night!” She stepped into his room and the door closed behind her. “I don’t think you’re okay. Like,  _ okay  _ okay.” Night kept his back turned,his head was bowed, and remained silent. “It’s probably been really chaotic what with the Amarok… and Mother. I understand, y’know. I don’t want you to push yourself too hard. Especially since you’re taking Mother’s place and all—I mean not just because of that, I really do want you to get better because you’re my family.” Dusk tried to hurry and think of something else. She didn’t want to sound like she had ulterior motives. Really she didn’t, but she and her pack needed Night. “If you need extra time to rest, I can go back to the pack and tell them everything that happened—”

“Dusk,” Night cut in, “Thank you, really. Right now, I really want to be left alone.”

“Right, I’m sorry.” Dusk backtracked into the hallway, but before closing the door she turned back and said, “You should probably eat something too. I don’t think you have in a while.” 

 

\--   


Night sat up from his bed, many hours later. Dusk was right, he hadn’t eaten since his first encounter with the Amarok, which was almost two weeks ago. When he thought about it, it was impressive, but he hadn’t really noticed his hunger since he was so focused on his pack's’ safety. Night buried his head in his hands. Was he even doing a good job? He's been gone the entire time. But he was trying to protect them. God, he didn't know. He wished someone could tell him what to do. Someone like Day. Night curled his nails in frustration, wishing horribly that she were still alive.

His head shot up when he heard knocking. Night looked to the clock on the stand beside his bed, seeing the bright red 7:34 am displayed on the screen. He hadn’t realized he was awake for so long and then soon wondered who could possibly be bothering him. He got up to answer, a feeling of unease filling him as he had a feeling he already knew who it was. 

He opened the door and it turned out he was correct once he saw Zodiac staring coldly at him. He was wearing a long night robe that looked like it was made out of silk, and his hair was pulled into a bun.

Night's face lit up upon seeing his face, recalling their previous night when Zodiac had “accidentally” drugged him and then proceeded to get him off. The nerve. Zodiac seemed alright before then but now Night wasn't sure he could trust him anymore.

 

“You have got to calm down.” Zodiac stated coolly, interrupting Night's inner monologue. “I need sleep, Night.”

“What are you talking about?”

“ Your thoughts, cease them. They are keeping me up. Go to sleep already. It is late for me.”

Night's brow furrowed. “I don't understand. How am I keeping you up?”

Zodiac sighed tiredly. “Have you not noticed? I drank quite a bit of your blood the other day. As a result, we are now imprinted.”

“We— wait, what? What does that mean exactly?”

“An imprint would be like mm…, the bond you twin werewolves have, perhaps a bit weaker. I cannot read your thoughts, but I can feel them. I sense the underlying emotion within them.”

“Can’t you just break it or something and move on?” Night asked

“Heh, if you were also a vampire it would be a fairly simple thing to do. ”

“Okay, so I’m not one. What’s the problem?” 

Zodiac decided to give Night the full explanation. “A small ritual of sorts is involved. Both parties would have to gather a bit of their magical power and “cut” through the bond. Simple for vampires, but werewolves do not have the same abilities we possess. If I wanted to break this bond with you, I would have to kill you.”

Night huffed angrily. “That sounds like bullshit! Are you telling me there is no other way? I don't want to be  _ imprinted  _ to  _ you _ . ”

Zodiac remained silent for a few moments thinking it over. “Perhaps there might be another way I am not aware of. I, personally, did not know that a vampire could imprint on a werewolf. But we have been alive for centuries, surely it has happened before. I will read up on it.” 

The answer didn't seem to satisfy Night but eventually he responded with a bitter: “Fine.”

“Night...” Zodiac began but he had nothing to say. He wanted to at least comfort Night in some manner since he was obviously under so much stress. Some of it caused by him.

“I'll try not to bother you anymore with my… thoughts.”

“You can talk to me if it will help—”

“I don't want to! Just leave!”

Zodiac was obviously hurt by his words but Night didn’t care. He didn’t want to care. The only thing he wanted was to be left alone. 

“Very well.” 

 

Zodiac let Night be, but even though he was alone like he wanted, he was still starving. He grumbled angrily at his own basic needs before opening the door again and stepping out into the hall. He wandered around a bit until he found the staircase, traipsing down twelve flights of stairs before he reached an empty lobby. Night pouted. He had never been inside a hotel in his life so he had no idea where the fuck he was. He turned around after hearing a loud yawn, trying to trace where the sound had come from. The area he meandered into looked like a storage room of some kind, the huge room was lined with endless grey shelves. It was very cold and Night contemplated transforming for warmth. Not being in his human form would have been a plus too.

“You look lost,” A voice said to him. He turned to see someone—a vampire, he figured from the blood bag in her hands—peering around the corner of one of the shelves. “Oh, are you that other werewolf Zodiac picked up? I’m Snow by the way.”

“I’m hungry.” Night blurted.

“Hello, hungry, nice to meet you.” Snow laughed hard at the awful joke. Night narrowed his eyes at her. “Hey, lighten up. I’m just messing around. Don’t you have a sense of humor?”

“It wasn’t funny.”

“Yikes,” Snow said and quickly finished her blood bag before crumpling the empty pouch into her hand. “Well, if you’re looking for food I guess I can help you.” Snow motioned for Night to follow her. They reached the elevator and Night hesitated to step inside. Snow giggled at him, “What, have you never been inside an elevator?”

“No. I am rarely in human establishments like this.” Night answered before finally stepping inside. Snow hit floor three. Curious, Night asked, “It’s morning isn’t it, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” 

“Yeah, I  _ was _ planning on doing that when I came back here. I’m tired as hell. Of course something came up so here I am.” She gave him a small smile. Once they reached the floor, Snow led him to a diner. It looked classy. The windows were covered fully with royal purple colored drapes, but the place was dimly lit with circular overhead lights. Small tables decorated with small tablecloths filled the room. Night noticed someone sitting alone at one of the tables.

“Final?” Night said, recognizing his messy red mane. His face was bruised and his arm was in a sling. 

Final turned their direction and cocked his head. He recognized the voice. “Night?” He stood once Night and Snow were much closer. “Whoa… I've never seen you not a werewolf.  You're kinda hot.”

Night ignored the comment. “Why are you here?”

“This is what came up.” Snow answered. “I brought him here. I figured maybe you two would know each other.” Snow yawned and headed for the kitchen.

Final sat back down and explained himself. “Yeah, see I went to check on the pack after everything that happened, but, uh, no one was there?”

“Right, well there was a chance the Amarok knew where the rest of the pack was so we relocated.” 

“I see.” Final replied. Night decided he'd sit with him. “Did you lose your shirt on the way down” Final asked after a period of silence.

Night shrugged. “I don't like clothes.” 

Final grinned.“Well, I'm not really complaining. By the way, what happened?” he was pointing to Night's bandaged wound. 

“Amarok.” Night stated simply. “Listen, it's more than likely we'll encounter more of them. You've been turned and you haven't been with us for that long. You aren't that old and you still have a family that's alive. If you don't want to get involved, I won't blame you if you run away.”

Final considered Night's words. “Is that what  _ you _ want?”

Night was startled by the question. “What?”

“Do you want me to run away?” Final clarified. “Would it be better if I did?”

“...Perhaps.” Night said, his gaze seemed far away. To Final, it seemed Night wasn’t talking about him anymore. 

 

Snow emerged from the kitchen, a large tray in her hands. She placed it on the table before them, setting out a large slab of meat for both of them. “I found some steaks so I cooked them up for you guys.” Final turned up his nose in disgust and Night had no qualms over swiping it from his plate and sinking his teeth into the juicy steak. “What you don’t like steak?”

“I don’t like meat,” Final confessed, “I’m a vegetarian.”

“You’re kidding right?” Snow asked and laughed when Final shook his head. “What the fuck! A vegetarian werewolf?! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard of!” Final grumbled angrily and Snow composed herself. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll go back and find something you might like.”

“Actually, Snow,” Final grabbed her hand before she could leave, “It’s okay. You look really tired. I don’t wanna keep you up any longer.” He beamed a reassuring smile a her.

Snow pulled her hand back, a light blush colored her cheeks, “Well, if you say so.” Snow covered her mouth for another yawn.“Later.”

  
  


Night had happily finished his steaks a while later. Admittedly, he was still a bit hungry, but it wasn't as intense as it was earlier.

“So, what are you going to do?” Final asked. Night sighed. Back to business it seemed. He was supposed to be the pack leader, but he honestly didn't want to think about Amarok or Zodiac or anything else stressful.

“I haven’t thought about it,” Night said honestly, “and quite frankly I don’t  _ want  _ to.”

Final laughed. “I would imagine that you would be under a lot of stress. I wouldn’t want to think about it either. In my opinion, I think you should just chill here. There isn’t an imminent danger as far as we can tell, why not just take a break?”

Night had never talked to Final for so long, but he learned that Final was surprisingly understanding. It was very good for Night since he was losing his mind over everything that had been happening. He needed something or someone to calm him down and Final had done a good job.

“Well, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Final said after scooting up from his chair. “I kinda want to hang around here for a bit. I wonder if that’s okay…Maybe I’ll go home after all. My sisters’ll probably freak out if they see me beat up like this. Night, do you think I could get a room?” Night shrugged, honestly not knowing or caring. “I’ll just get a room. Wait! How big is your room? Can I stay with you?”

Night blinked “Um, what?”

“Stay with you, I’m sure if you do some explaining that guy, uh, Zodiac, he won’t mind, right?”

“I… guess…”

Final frowned at his response. “Hey, you can say no if you want. No need to force yourself to stay with me.”

“I don’t really mind or anything, but I don’t want to talk to Zodiac if I don’t have to.” Night told him.

“What’s the problem?”

Night shook his head and cut his eyes away from Final. “I’d rather not talk about it. But don’t worry, you can stay. I suppose the company would be nice. ” Night thought it was interesting he would say that considering not too long ago, he wanted to be alone. Perhaps that wasn’t really what he wanted or needed after all. “I haven’t really slept though, so I’ll probably be doing that.”

“I’ll be quiet then.” Final told him.

 

A short while later, the two had gone back to Night’s room. Night immediately curled himself into the bed. He overheard Final complaining about leaving his laptop and his phone at home before he plopped down on a small couch near the bed and turned on the T.V., lowering the volume so that Night could sleep with little trouble. Eventually Night did doze off and Final, bored out of his mind, fell asleep as well.

\--

It had been many hours later. Night had almost become accustom to the sound of knocking on his door. He never expected to have so many visitors, especially at a hotel run by vampires. He looked around the room for Final, but the boy was nowhere to be found. Night reached the door and opened it to find Destiny.

She gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, did I wake you. I just wanted to check your wound. I-if that’s alright. I’ll give it a once over and change the dressing. O-of course you should be fine, being a werewolf and all.” 

Night was silent but he sat at the edge of the bed to allow Destiny to do whatever she needed to. She hurried, quickly unwrapping the bandages from his abdomen. The cool air hitting his wound made Night hiss a bit. Destiny traced the outline of his injury, the flesh red and puckered. “Does it hurt much?”

Night answered, “It does but not as much as before. It’s tolerable.”

“That’s good.” Destiny said, “A wound this big gets infected fairly easily, but it seems to be healing well, probably because you’re a werewolf. That will probably leave a nasty scar though.” She finished redressing him and stood up. “Okay, I’m all done. I’m really sorry for bothering you.” Destiny rushed to the door before Night could even think about giving her any thank-yous. Night actually left just a bit after her, trying to search for Final. 

It was much later so there were tons more people up and about the hotel. It was awful for Night when he took the elevator back down to the lobby; there were so many people crowding around him and staring that it made his skin crawl. Once he reached the main floor, it was a blessing to be out such a tight space. Of course, there were still people staring curiously at him, making Night very nervous. What did they want?

 

“Oi, shirtless!” Someone’s accented voice called out. Night turned his head in the direction the voice was coming from. Some woman with bright orange hair that Night didn’t know was waving him over to her desk. No one was around her so he cautiously walked over to her. “You all right? You look a bit disoriented.”

“I’m fine.” Night told her sternly.

“Hey, hey, relax, wolfy, I’m a vamp. You’ll find that most of the people working here are. I’m Storm. My girlfriend, Snow, told me about you. Now are you really okay?” 

“I am, really…” Night glanced back at the bustling humans, “I’m just not used to being around so many people like this. They keep  _ staring. _ ” 

“Heh, maybe you should have put a shirt on before you left your room. Usually people don’t walk around shirtless.” She laughed at Night’s grumbling. “Anyway, did you need something? If you’re hungry you could have ordered room service from your room and had it delivered to you.”

“No, no… wait really?” Night asked, amazed. Storm gave him a small grin and nodded her head. “Wow… but, actually I was looking for someone. I don’t know if you’ve seen a guy with short, messy red hair, green eyes. Uh, werewolf?”

“Oh, Final?” Storm figured, “Third floor. There’s a bar on the same floor as the diner. A lot of our own like to hang up there. Snow works at the bar so I think Final’s keeping her company. Maybe she’ll give you a drink or two. You look like you might need one.”

Night nodded, thanked Storm, and moved on. He managed to find the bar with no problems. There were many vampires having their fair share of drinks, with a few humans here and there. Night spotted Final sitting at the bar having a conversation with Snow. Night sat down beside him, pausing their conversation.

“Oh, hey, you’re awake! Did you sleep alright?” Final asked. His breath smelled heavily of alcohol. 

“I suppose.”

“You should get a drink!” suggested Final. “I think you deserve it more than anyone. Snow you should totally get him something.”

“Sure, what do you drink? Our specialty is Bloody Mary.” Snow cackled to herself.

“I don’t really…”

“Nothing?”

“Come ooonnnn, Night. You deserve a little breakk.” Final slurred at him

“Um,” Night shrugged. “Just bring me whatever I guess.” Snow laughed to herself again and went roaming around to another room full of cabinets to find what she needed.

“Isn’t she sooo nice, Night?” Final was whispering, “She’s so nice.”

“I guess so.” Night said awkwardly. Final was hanging onto him like a drunken fool.

“She is so nice. And she is totally super cute. I think I love her. Do you think she loves me too?”

Night tried to push Final off of him, “I  _ think  _ that she already has a lover and that you’re very drunk.” 

“ _ Nooo _ , Night, I’m not drunk. I think she’s totally into me. We have good chemistry.” 

Night honestly couldn’t bring himself to care about this. “Why don’t you ask her then? That will clear everything up.”

Final pouted. “Fine! I will, you’ll see. And we’re gonna get married and live happily ever after!” Night rolled his eyes. 

Snow came back with an unopened bottle of something. She pulled out a cup, opened the bottle of alcohol, and poured half a glass full for Night, before setting it in front of him. “This is Port wine. I figured since you don’t drink a lot you wouldn’t like the taste of alcohol so much. This is really sweet. Try it.” Night looked at the drink uneasy before taking a swig. He coughed and set the cup down. Snow covered her mouth, trying not to laugh so loud at him. “Are you okay?” The laughter still evident in her voice.

“I thought you said I  _ wouldn’t _ taste the alcohol!”

“You can’t! There’s only like twenty-percent alcohol in there.” Snow had to turn away to laugh.

Final was also dying of laughter. “You’re such a pansy, Night.” Even Final’s laughs were drawn out and slurred. 

Night sighed in annoyance and quickly downed his drink, demanding Snow for more. She happily poured him another cup and watched him down it in a second, then ask for another. “Don’t hurt yourself, now.” Snow warned him. 

“I’ve only had two glasses.” protested Night.

Snow gave him a doubtful look before pouring his third cup. 

“Haha, Nii _ iiight _ , you seem like a fun guy to do shots wiht. We should do shots next time.” Final proposed.

Night finished his third cup and made a decision. “Let’s do that now.”

Final’s face seemed to light up. “Yess! Snow give us two shots of whiskey—each!”

“Final,” Snow said gently, “don’t you think you’ve had enough tonight?”

“This will be my last, I swear.”

Snow rolled her eyes. “Alright, but I’m only giving you two  _ one _ shot. You’ve both had enough.”  

Once again Night protested, “I’ve only had three.”

“I’m more than sure you’re a lightweight.” Snow told him quickly. She searched the counter for whiskey and shot glasses. “This is straight whiskey now.” she warned. Final laughed and quickly drank the shot.

“Whew! Oh my god, that really burns!” he looked to Night expectantly, who was staring at the shot hard. “Come on, Night! Don’t wimp out now.” 

“Fine.” Night put the glass to his lips and tilted his head back, trying his best not to taste it. Though once the alcohol hit back of his throat, he lurched forward, coughing hard at the burning sensation. Snow and Final couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Holy shit! Oh god, oh, it hurts to cough.” 

“I can’t believe you actually drank that!” Final cried, “You thought that wine had too much alcohol but then you go straight to whiskey!? Night you’re crazy!”  

Night couldn’t answer, his throat was still burning. 

 

The two hung out for a while more. Though Snow would no longer serve them anymore drinks, they were both plenty drunk. As Snow thought, Night was a lightweight, however it was nice to see him a bit more comfortable and chatty so she didn’t think him drinking was a bad idea.

They were having a good time until the bar’s loud and lively atmosphere seemingly quieted down to a low murmur. Final looked around curiously. “Gee, did someone die? What’s up?”

Snow was about to answer but Night got distracted by a hand to his shoulder. He turned to face Zodiac and almost bolted away upon seeing his face. 

“This would explain quite a bit…”Zodiac sighed. 

“Zodiac, did you want a drink?” Snow asked carefully.

“No, but I do want Night to  _ stop  _ drinking.”

Night looked offended. “Why, is it bothering you?”

“Yes, actually, it is. I am feeling lightheaded and dizzy. When you drink it affects me as well.”

Night clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Is there anything I  _ can  _ do without it bothering you?” 

 

Snow narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Something about this conversation was weird. She shortly figured out the problem and gasped dramatically. “Oh my god!” she lowered her voice to a whisper so she didn’t cause a scene when she announced her next words: “Zodiac, are you imprinted to Night?” Night gritted his teeth angrily, Final cocked his head confused, and Zodiac placed a hand on his face, covering his irritation and embarrassment. “Oh my god!” Snow cried again. “Does Dream know about that?”

“Of course not!” Zodiac snapped. “She has been very testy lately. I refuse to try her temper anymore.”

Snow retorted. “But she’ll be angrier the longer you don’t tell her. Shouldn’t  _ you  _ know that?”

“I-I am well aware!” Zodiac stuttered out. “Keep your mouth shut! I intend to get rid of it quickly so Dream does not need to know a thing.”

Doubt crossed Snow’s face but she didn't say anymore.

Final spoke up,“Maybe I’m missing somethin but, uh, what's an ‘imprint’?”  Night and Zodiac stared at Final and Snow simply shook her head. 

“Final,” Snow began gently, “it's probably best if we let them handle this themselves.”

Night grunted angrily, “There's nothing to handle. I'm not even drinking anymore so we shouldn't have a problem!” he brushed Zodiac's hand from his shoulder. “Don't touch me.”

“You are still bitter about the other evening but I cannot stress enough that it was not my intention—”

“Shut up, shut up!” Night blew up, quickly standing up from his seat and darting away. He stormed his way back up to his room, where he buried himself within the sheets of the bed. Angry thoughts trouble his mind and didn't let up until sleep finally pulled him under, temporarily putting him at ease.

 

\--

 

Zodiac had chased Night. He waited on him, tried to to reason with him, and he had certainly apologized as much as Night would allow him to. Now all Zodiac could do was sit in his lobby, glass of iced water in his hands and a bottle of painkillers on a small table next to him. He had taken so many to get rid of his headache, but was starting to learn that they weren't working. He also probably took a lot more pills than he should have, but whatever. He was a vampire, not like he could die again. Not like that anyhow.

Zodiac was unsure of what he could do about him and Night and the damned imprint. He was more than certain that breaking it would be no simple task  though he was determined to find a way for Night. Zodiac himself had mixed feelings about the imprint. Night seemed to be the most stressed out person in the entire universe from everything Zodiac felt from their connection. It was overwhelming to put it lightly. But, all the same, Zodiac wanted to stay this way. Night would be furious to hear it, but he didn't want to break this imprint. At first, Zodiac believed he was just generally curious about Night, twin brother of his beloved friend Day. Now, he was afraid that he was harboring some rather serious affections for the werewolf.

A heavy sigh escaped Zodiac's lips. Storm from across the lobby called out to him from her desk. There seemed to be a lull I'm the customers so she could speak to him freely.“How are you holding up over there, Zodiac?”

“I feel like shit.” 

Storm laughed at him. That wasn't the usual formal speech she was expecting from him. “Don't you worry. It can't get too much worse now.”  As if fate were challenging her words, Dream made a nigh instantaneous appearance after Storm had finished her sentence. She had stepped out from the elevator, looking rather pissed, but then again Storm always found Dream intimidating. Her eyes seemed to lock onto Zodiac and she clipped toward him.

Sensing her nearby Zodiac straightened in his chair, expecting her to sit in his lap, as she typically would; she did just that, if not landing a bit too harshly.

“Ah, Zodiac, a minha pessoa favorita. Acabei de ouvir A coisa mais interessante.” She said to him in Portuguese. 

“Oh really? What have you heard that was so interesting?”

Dream chuckled, “Gostaria de ouvi-lo?

Zodiac hesitated before answering, “Yes…but please, so I can understand clearly. I only know so much Portuguese.”

Again, Dream laughed, giving Zodiac chills for how marvelous she sounded, and at the same time terrifying. “Very well. I’ve heard about a little werewolf that seems to be imprinted to a certain coven leader.” 

Zodiac froze and looked Dream in the eye. How is it possible that she had heard such a thing? It had only been hours since Zodiac had disclosed that information and they had been quiet. He himself cursed inwardly and his coven for being so chatty.  “Is that so? And where did you hear that?”

Dream’s smile sent shivers down his spine. “Nevermind that. But Zodiac,” Dream cupped his cheek, her nails digging into his skin, “is this true?”

“My de—” Her nails clawed at him harder before Zodiac could finish, “Dream… I believe you already know the answer to that.”

“But I want to hear you say it.”

Zodiac stared at Dream for a while before he sighed and answered: “Yes, Dream, I have imprinted to Night. Are you satisfied?”

Dream rose from Zodiac’s lap, gaze burned into his bright eyes, her tone enraged, “It’s infuriating that I found out from some silly gossip I overheard. Why didn’t  _ you  _ tell me?” 

“I did not bother telling you because I was planning on breaking it.” Zodiac explained quickly. “Also, you have been rather disagreeable as of late.”

Dream huffed sharply, “Well it’s been almost three days and not only is  _ that werewolf  _ is still here, but you’re imprinted to him! Maybe that’s why I’m so  _ ‘disagreeable’ _ !”

“Dream I have already told you, once Night is well enough he and his fellow werewolves will lea—”

Dream cut him off. “¿Eres estúpido? You don’t seem to understand. It’s not the  _ werewolves,  _ plural, it’s the  _ werewolf _ , singular—Night!”

“Night?”

“Pensé que entendías inglés, ¡Si, Noche!”

“I—I am afraid I do not understand, Dream.” 

“You belong to me!” Dream screeched, creating an eerie silence in the lobby. The few human and vampires loitering about looking at the two with curious eyes. Dream bowed her head and took a deep breath. Shortly after, she pulled Zodiac up from his seat and dragged him off to a more private hall.

 

“Dream…” Zodiac tried cautiously.

Her voice was a lot calmer when she asked: “You don't want to break the imprint, do you?” When Zodiac remained silent, Dream continued, “Do you love him?” 

Zodiac answered with a small laugh. “I believe you already know the answers to those questions, my dear.”

“I see.” Dream replied. 

 

Silence followed suit after the response, making Zodiac antsy. He wanted to say something more, to perhaps ease the situation, but Dream had beat him to the punch. “...I don’t want you to leave me. You belong to me Zodiac.” she said weakly.

“Dream, I would never leave you. Even if I have fallen for someone else.”

“I already know that but still,” She crossed her hands over her heart and looked at Zodiac with so much sorrow in her expression, it made his own heart twinge in a way that he thought he might have been alive once again.  “It still hurts…”

Zodiac cupped her cheeks, thumbs wiping at non-existent tears as she sobbed vehemently. He placed his forehead to her own. “Dream, I have never been more sorry. I am so sorry that I have hurt you like this.” 

“No,” Dream was trying to calm herself down, “No, please don’t be. We haven’t been together for a long while. I can’t be selfish now that you have moved on.”

“Heh, I may have moved on as you say, but even so,” Zodiac donned a pained grin. “it seems my affections are likely unrequited.”

Dream now placed a sympathetic hand to his face. “Oh, meu amor, I wish you the best.”

Zodiac beamed at her. “Truly, you are a wonderful woman.” Zodiac grabbed her hand and placed it to his lips.

 

Their loving moment had soon come to an end but something was still on Dream’s mind. “You don’t want to break the imprint, but you’re still going to?”

“Ah, yes. Night does not enjoy the thought of us being connected so…”Zodiac trailed off.

“But he is a werewolf...how were you planning on breaking an imprint like that without killing him?”

“I intended to find a way,” Zodiac sighed.  “Though imprinting with a non-vampire  _ is  _ new to even me.  It will probably be difficult to find such information.”

“I could help you.” suggested Dream. “Uh, not for any personal reasons.”

“Thank you, my dear, I appreciate it. I suppose all we need to do now is guide Night back to full health so that he may go back to his pack. I doubt he wants to stay here any longer.” Dream nodded in agreement. “Shall we go then?”


End file.
